Rodri launched a bitter attack at Scotland by claiming Steve Clarke's men 'waste time' and play 'rubbish'.
The Spain midfielder was reacting following a stunning win for the national team at Hampden as they made it two out of two in Euro 2024 qualifying. Scott McTominay - who climbed off the bench to score twice against Cyprus - was the hero in this one as he notched another famous double to down the visitors much to the delight of the Tartan Army.
Hampden Park was roaring from kick-off with the whole nation now looking forward to the June double-header with Norway and Georgia after a famous night under the lights in Mount Florida. Luis de la Fuente made eight changes to his side from their opening game win as they left Glasgow empty handed.
Both Pedro Porro and Joselu were guily of some play-acting in the first period but Rodri claims it was Scotland that were up to no good as he hit out at full-time. His comments were met with a stinging response from Ally McCoist, who admitted he is clearly classier on the pitch than he is off it.
He told Viaplay Sports: “It’s the way they play. We have to respect that. For me it’s a bit rubbish because it is always wasting time.
“They provoke you and they always fall. For me, this is not football. For the speed of the sport, you have to move on but the referee has to take part of this. But he says nothing.
“It's frustrating because we want to win but it’s difficult, because you waste time and waste time. But it is what it is. They have their weapons and we need to use our weapons. We will know that for the next time.”
He continued: “No, we didn't do that. We always fight, but this is not about fighting, this is about falling four or five times on the floor. It depends on the referee.
“We need to always think about their physicality, but we have to use our weapons with the ball, to move it. Today we did many good things but at the end what is important is the goals and we didn’t score.”
Responding to Rodri's comments, McCoist said: “Rodri’s clearly classier on the pitch than he is off it. We deserved the victory when you think about all the chances before half-time. We won 2-0 and had the better chances so make no mistake about it, this is a thoroughly deserved victory for Scotland tonight.”
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