Luther Challenge

After Belgium coach Roberto Martinez was challenged in the Champions League final, he was furious with the “reckless” Antonio Rudiger, which made Kevin De Bruyne doubt the 2020 European Cup.

On Saturday night, in the second half of Chelsea’s European victory in Porto, the German defender blocked the Manchester City playmaker’s attack.

Martinez is now less than two weeks away from Belgium’s first group match against Russia. He believes that Rudiger should be punished more severely than the yellow card he received.

“For me, Rudiger is very, very lucky,” he said. “When you watch the replay, there is no conflict of minds.

“He left Kevin’s shoulder correctly. He seems to have a concussion, and we will see its state.

“But it left a sour taste, because Rudiger was holding his head, almost trying to show that he was hiding something.

“For me, this is excessive force and recklessness. And it should be a red card.

“Kevin is not a player who fell for no reason. You can see the pain, it’s a swollen eye.”