Real Madrid boosted ahead of Arsenal clash with UEFA punishments for four players revealed and goalkeeper likely to return | OneFootball

Four Real Madrid stars have been cleared to face Arsenal in the Champions League having been the subject of a UEFA investigation.

Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Dani Ceballos and Vinicius Junior have all avoided bans despite their celebrations after their penalty shoot-out win over Atletico in the previous round of the competition.

An Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector had been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct by the four players during the second leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid on 12 March.

It stemmed from the celebrations after the victory, with Rudiger appearing to make a throat slitting gesture and Mbappe appearing to grab his crotch after the win.

The findings were published on Friday and saw Rudiger fined €40,000, Mbappe €30,000 and Ceballos €20,000 for “violating the rules of decent conduct”

Rudiger and Mbappe have also been handed one-match European suspensions which are suspended for a year and will not be activated unless there is a repeat offence.

Vinicius, meanwhile, was cleared of all wrongdoing and had no disciplinary charges brought against him.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti had previously spoken of his confidence that the four in question would avoid bans, telling reporters: “We are confident on UEFA investigation,” said Ancelotti. “We wait for verdict, but our players didn’t do anything wrong.

“We are confident in UEFA’s verdict as the players had just celebrated, that’s it.”

Real Madrid have also been dealt a further boost with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois expected to be fit to face Arsenal on Tuesday.

The goalkeeper has been absent of late through injury while back-up keeper Andriy Lunin has also picked up a knock.

But asked about a potential goalkeeping crisis, Ancelotti said: “Courtois is a lot better. We believe he can be available for Tuesday’s game.

“Lunin is going to have a test later today having picked up a minor problem and if he can’t play, we have plenty of faith in [third-choice goalkeeper] Fran Gonzalez He is young [aged 19]. We are all convinced he has a great future ahead.”