Karim Rekik frustrated with Robert Lewandowski’s comments over red card

Karim Rekik expressed his anger at Robert Lewandowski after Hertha Berlin’s 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich, in which the 24-year-old Dutch center-back received a red card following a clash with the Polish international.

After the sending off, Lewandowski claimed that it was a clear red car, and that Rekik knew where he was and deliberately went after him.

Talking to Bild, Rekik criticized Lewandowski for not telling the truth:

I’m very disappointed about his statements. I know him as a magnificent player, but he’s not telling the truth in my view

He has no need to do that. I’d like to ask him to watch the scene together with me. If I received a justified red card, I’ll go to the locker room and shut my mouth. Why would he say something like that?

Rekik added that he believes Lewandowski deliberately kicked him while he was on the ground:

I’ve watched the scene more than ten times. In my view, he deliberately kicks me with his foot in the face right beforehand.

A suspension of more than one game would be exaggerated. I don’t hit him at all and he goes to ground as if Mike Tyson hit him.

Rekik’s coach Pal Dardai, unsurprisingly, backed his player’s statements:

In my view, Lewandowski fouls first. Both could have been given yellow cards. Lewandowski lay on the pitch the whole game, playing the dying swan. That wasn’t a red card all day long.

Reviewing the video, it is certain that Lewandowski’s foot makes contact with Rekik’s head, but whether it is intentional or not is unclear. Nevertheless, Rekik’s response is clearly a body-check with the obvious intention of hurting Lewandowski, which is why the red card was given.

What is your opinion? Did Lewandowski deliberately hit Rekik in the head? Was the red card justified?’