Euro 2020: ‘More of a nibble’ says Roy Keane, but did Antonio Rudiger bite Paul Pogba during France v Germany?
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Updated 15/06/2021 at 20:31 GMT
“I think it was more of a nibble wasn’t it, than a bite," said pundit Roy Keane of an incident that saw Antonio Rudiger possibly bite Paul Pogba. The punditry panel on ITV's half-time coverage of the game between France and Germany didn't know what to make of the bizarre moment, that could see the Chelsea centre-half retrospectively punished.
Paul Pogba (Francia) y Antonio Rüdiger (Alemania)
Image credit: Getty Images
There was a bizarre incident during the first half of the Group F meeting between France and Germany at Euro 2020.
As French midfielder Paul Pogba looked to break free of the attentions of the touch-tight German centre-back Antonio Rudiger, it looked like the Chelsea defender leaned in and bit his opponent on the upper back.
That’s certainly what Manchester United’s Pogba claimed, as he remonstrated with the match officials after the altercation.
Reacting in the ITV Studio at half-time, former France and Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira said it did look like Rudiger bit the Frenchman, but that he wasn’t totally sure.
“I don’t know what he’s done there,” Vieira said. “You’ve seen the Pogba reaction, it looks like a bite. I don’t fully understand what he was trying to do there.”
But fellow pundit Roy Keane was more certain, saying it “wasn’t a proper bite”.
I think it was more of a nibble wasn’t it, than a bite.
“It wasn’t a proper bite, was it?" Keane added. "But, a silly thing to do.”
Ian Wright wasn’t sure he agreed with the pair, saying that if there was a bite then Pogba would have reacted differently, and instantly.
“If he’s bitten him there he’s going to flinch, and he’s not flinched at all,” Wright said.
“I don’t know what’s happened there.”
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Euro 2020: France v Germany - Follow LIVE
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Also in the first-half of the headline fixture, Pogba took advantage of Rudiger pressing out of the back-line to float a lovely pass over the top of the stretched Germany defence to pick out full-back Lucas Hernandez, whose cross was turned into his own net by Mats Hummels.
The discussion over a bite wasn’t the only unusual talking point generated by the game at the Allianz Arena. Moments before kick-off, a parachuting protestor struck a cable controlling the spider cam and crashed into the stadium, narrowly avoiding hitting spectators and journalists in the stands.
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