Rodri has called for better protection for players after one of his teammates from Spain had to leave the rest of the European Championship.
Pedri’s tournament ended after he injured his knee last Friday in a tough challenge by Toni Kroos at the beginning of the quarterfinal against Germany, which Spain won 2-1.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Kroos should have been sent off in his final match. Kroos didn’t even get a yellow card.
“As football players, we always want to be protected,” Rodri said on Monday. “That’s the job of the referee.
“He sets the standard, so what counts as a yellow or red card is his responsibility, not ours. We play according to the rules or the level he sets. That’s the reality.”
Rodri, known as the best defensive midfielder globally, expects another tough match in Tuesday’s semifinal against France.
“Tomorrow will be a very physical battle because they are a physical team. So we have to approach it the same way, be strong, use our bodies, because we know how powerful they are,” he said.
Before the quarterfinal, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had said his players would make things difficult for Spain’s young talent Lamine Yamal. There were tough tackles from the start in Stuttgart on Friday.
De la Fuente said the 16-year-old Yamal has to get used to it.
“It’s part of football, part of the game,” he said. “Teams try to gain an advantage through play or intimidation tactics. Everyone uses their tools, always under the referee’s rules.
“We have to explain to a 16-year-old that he has to understand this reality. Lamine needs to keep being himself and learn from these experiences. He’s learning quickly.”
