A Manchester City star has now suffered a ban at the 2024 UEFA European Championship after breaking a new rule.
While midfielder Rodri enjoyed being part of the Spain side that picked up their second consecutive victory of the tournament on Thursday night, he will have been dismayed at becoming the first player to be suspended at the competition.
Read: The latest from Ahly on Tau's future 'revealed'
Luis de la Fuente's side beat Italy by a goal to nil courtesy of a second-half own goal by Riccardo Calafiori to maintain their spot at the top of Group B and secure themselves a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament with one game to spare.
Rodri, however, will miss La Furia Roja's final group game before the round of 16 against Albania on Monday, after he picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Italy.
The midfielder was cautioned for speaking to the referee, with a new regulation that was brought in for the continental competition prohibiting anyone other than team captains from communicating with the match official.
As a result, the 27-year-old has picked up a one-match ban.
The former Atletico Madrid star did, however, wear the armband later on in the tie after Alvaro Morata was substituted off the pitch.
Speaking previously about the implementation of the rule, UEFA's managing director for refereeing Roberto Rosetti confirmed that he had informed players and coaches that referees will liaise only with captains during matches.
In those conversations, they offered information and explained key decisions, including what is discussed with Video Assistant Referees to the player wearing the armband.
In the case of a goalkeeper being captain, a designated outfield player can be chosen to interact with the referee.
"We shared the idea with the EURO 2024 coaches and spoke about this topic inside our UEFA Football Board, with top players, former players and coaches," Rosetti said earlier this month, per UEFA's official website.
"And, all together, we agreed about this situation and then went to the teams. They are happy about this."
Read: Record-setting Messi shines in Copa America opener
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.