Germany national team footballer Antonio Rudiger will go unpunished for his alleged bite on France’s Paul Pogba.
UEFA has made a decision to not authorise disciplinary action against Rudiger during the first half of the Germany-France match in Munich on Tuesday. Rudiger appeared to have bitten the back of Manchester United midfielder Pogba, who reacted with a scream.
As the incident went unnoticed by the officials of the game, Pogba asked them to take a closer look but nothing came of his pleading.
The UEFA have now confirmed they won’t be opening a case over the incident, which means Germany player Rudiger will be able to play in the game against Portugal.
After the match, Pogba said he didn't want Rudiger suspended as a result of the incident.
"I’m not crying for cards, yellow, red cards, because of such actions. He nibbled, I think, a little bit on me. But we have known each other for a long time. I told the referee and he takes decisions and he took a decision. It’s over. It was a great match for us, and I didn’t want him to be suspended because of such a situation," Pogba said.
Rudiger said that the pair talked about it "as friends after the final whistle" and admitted that he shouldn't "come close with my mouth to his back."
Social media posts mocking the apparent bite surfaced following the match.
One of the most famouse biting incidents in the recent history of international football tournaments saw Uruguay player Luis Suarez bite Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during a 2014 World Cup match. Suarez was banned for nine games and sent home from the tournament.