The veteran Argentine defender Cabral clashed with Germany's Antonio Rudiger late in their Club World Cup match in Charlotte, leading to an exchange of insults and a heated altercation.

Rudiger, who made his return for Real Madrid after an injury by coming off the bench in North Carolina, alleged that Cabral directed racist remarks at him. The 39-year-old South American defender denies this.

After Pachuca's 3-1 loss to a 10-man Real Madrid, Cabral explained to reporters: "It was just an argument. The referee suspected racism, but nothing of the sort occurred. In Argentina, we often use the term 'sh*tty coward'. I was repeatedly saying that to him. You can check the footage; I was saying 'f*cking coward, get up'."

Cabral further stated that Rudiger threatened, "I'll see you outside," and that they continued arguing in the tunnel, but it didn't escalate further.

Real Madrid's coach Xabi Alonso commented on the incident: "We stand by Toni. We'll wait for the investigation. The FIFA protocol will be activated, and they will look into it. If it happened, we fully support Antonio; such behavior is intolerable and has no place in the game."

Pachuca's coach Jaime Lozano defended his captain: "I'll speak with him. From what I know, nothing like this has ever happened with our players. I vouch for my captain."

Cabral, who previously played for Levante and Celta Vigo in Spain, joined Pachuca in 2019. In this match, despite Real Madrid playing with 10 men after Raul Asencio's early red card, Pachuca still lost 3-1.