Rodri: Manchester City defender fined £80,000 due to referee comments

“I know we won a lot and people don’t want us to win, but the referee must be impartial,” Rodri said after the match.

“It’s not fair because we work so hard. When it’s all over, you feel frustrated.”

The FA Regulatory Committee said that Rodri sent two letters as part of his evidence.

He said in the first message that his words were “misunderstood and misinterpreted by some media organizations,” but in the second message he acknowledged that they were “inappropriate and fall below the expected level.”

“I would like to make clear that I did not mean to insinuate bias or question the integrity of the match officials,” Rodri wrote in the second message.

“I have always had, and still have, great respect for referees and the difficult job they do in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment.

“I made my comments in a moment of frustration after a disappointing result.

“After thinking, I realized that the words I used were poorly chosen and could be interpreted in a way I did not intend.”