Kylian Mbappe among four key Real Madrid players who could be banned for Champions League clash with Arsenal

03/27/2025 05:11 PM

Real Madrid could be without FOUR key stars for their Champions League tie with Arsenal – including Kylian Mbappe.

This comes as UEFA launched an investigation into their alleged ‘indecent conduct’ during their last-16 win over Atletico Madrid.

UEFA have appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of indecent conduct during the second leg of their last-16 tie at the Wanda Metropolitano on March 12.

It’s believed that they’re looking at how four players – Mbappe, Vincius Jr, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos – celebrated at the end of the match.

Reports in the Spanish media claim that Atletico reported their conduct last week.

If charged and found guilty, the players could be punished with a fine or even a ban in UEFA competitions.

This could impact the quartet’s availability for the upcoming Champions League ties with Arsenal.

The first leg takes place on April 8 at the Emirates Stadium, with the second leg taking place at the Bernabeu on April 16.

However it’s not yet clear if the investigation will be resolved before they face the Gunners or what the length of the ban will be if any of the players are sanctioned with that.

Among the incidents being looked at is a clip of Rudiger appearing to make a throat-cutting gesture towards the Atletico fans.

Video clips on social media also appear to show Mbappe grabbing his crotch during Real Madrid‘s celebrations.

The French star could be set to be punished based on a precedent set by UEFA in recent years.

Jude Bellingham was fined €30,000 for a similar gesture at Euro 2024 last summer.

He was also given a one-match suspended ban for grabbing his crotch after scoring a late equaliser during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the last-16.

In 2019, Atletico boss Diego Simeone was fined €20,000 for a similar celebration against Juventus in the Champions League.

This came as he turned towards fans and grabbed his crotch to celebrate Jose Maria Giminez’s goal in a 2-0 win.

A statement from UEFA said: “A UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct by Real Madrid CF players (Antonio Rüdiger, Kylian Mbappé, Daniel Ceballos Fernández and Vinicius Junior) during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF on 12 March 2025.

“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”