Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, addressed the media on Saturday following his team’s match against CA Osasuna, which took place on the 24th day of the league.
The game was once again surrounded by controversy regarding the refereeing decisions, an issue that seems to have affected Real Madrid in recent weeks. During the press conference, Ancelotti openly discussed the referee’s performance, highlighting specific incidents that he felt were unfair.
Ancelotti began by evaluating the referee’s actions, particularly focusing on the red card shown to Jude Bellingham. He explained, “Boh. It was a game where we started well from a football perspective. The red card for Bellingham… he didn’t understand English very well.
He said ‘fuck off’, not ‘fuck you’. That’s where he went wrong. ‘Fuck off’ means don’t mess with me. It’s not offensive.” Ancelotti suggested that the referee’s misunderstanding of the phrase led to the wrong decision.
He then mentioned that Real Madrid has been on the receiving end of questionable refereeing decisions in their last three games. “Things have happened to us in the last three games that everybody has seen. I don’t want to add to that because I want to be in the next game,” Ancelotti stated, hinting at a pattern of unfavorable calls. He also expressed his concern about the inconsistent use of VAR, noting, “The VAR doesn’t analyse actions in the other team’s area and it does in ours.”
The Italian coach stressed that these issues were evident to all spectators and pointed out that Real Madrid needed to keep fighting despite the challenges they faced. He concluded by expressing hope that things would improve in the Champions League, saying, “Hopefully in the Champions League everything will work out.”
When asked if he needed to talk to Bellingham about the incident, Ancelotti responded that his focus was on the referee’s actions rather than Bellingham’s words. “I would be in favor of talking to the referee and not to Bellingham. He said if it’s a foul, it’s a penalty. No shit.
The red card comes from the nervousness of the referee. Today he did nothing to get sent off. He made a mistake in the translation, nothing more,” Ancelotti explained, defending his player and attributing the situation to a simple misunderstanding.
Ancelotti also commented on Real Madrid’s recent complaints about refereeing decisions, acknowledging that certain events in their last three games were unacceptable. “Something has happened in the last three games that shouldn’t have happened. What we can do is continue to fight and play well,” he stated. Despite his frustrations, he emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on the upcoming matches in La Liga and the Champions League. During the game against Osasuna, Ancelotti himself received a yellow card.
He explained that the booking was due to his protest over a handball incident, where he believed the referee should have checked the VAR. “He booked me because I told him there was a handball in the area and in my opinion he should have checked the VAR. They turned it on a little later,” Ancelotti explained, indicating his frustration with the delay in the VAR review.
Overall, Ancelotti’s comments reflected his dissatisfaction with the recent officiating decisions affecting Real Madrid, while maintaining a determined attitude to keep pushing forward in upcoming competitions.
