Real Madrid remain furious about referee treatment despite Ancelotti message

Real Madrid feel they are being unfairly treated by referees, after they received another three yellow cards against Alaves for dissent. More than half of the bookings that they have received have been due to protests.

During the summer the Referees Committee brought in a new rule that meant only the captain could speak to the referee about decisions, and that any sign of dissent, including gestures, would be punished with a yellow card.

It’s a rule Los Blancos are struggling to adapt to, with 9 of their 15 yellows coming from protests, and 6 of their last 8 yellows for the same reason. To add insult to injury, rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have a single booking for dissent between them.

While Vinicius Junior was fortunate to escape a second yellow on Tuesday for laughing in the fourth official’s face and then sarcastically applauding the referee’s decision to add on 6 minutes of stoppage time, Lucas Vazquez felt they were being dealt with harshly.

“I think they are being very harsh. Today what Fede does is anecdotal, I think what he does in the third minute does not justify the card. The other day Kylian’s thing was very soft. We understand that the referees want to cut the moaning out a bit, but I think we have to have a middle ground,” he told Marca.

“Everyone on the pitch is going very fast, and we have to understand the player and lower the bar a bit. In these two games the protests have been penalised more than the kicks. We had two cards without having made a single foul and with 10 fouls they had no not a single card. I think it’s something to look at, but I understand that everything will improve.”

Meanwhile manager Carlo Ancelotti has been critical of his players, although he did question the referee’s decision to book Luka Modric, who as captain could open a dialogue with him.

“We have to get used to the new rule and nothing more. We have to stop the protest and that’s it. Fair or unfair, we have to adapt to the new rules. I have told him that the yellow cards he has gotten for the protests seem exaggerated to me, nothing more.”

“Now I have to do my bit to avoid it, and nothing more. No problems. We have to evaluate the issue of the yellows due to the protests and we will do it among ourselves. But he has given a yellow to the captain, Modric, who can speak.”

Ancelotti has on three separate occasions chastised his players for complaining too much in 2024, including telling Jude Bellingham to ‘shut it’ after he was sent off for protesting towards the referee.

Undoubtedly, the referee against Alaves has particularly zealous in adhering to the rules, where others have not set the bar so high in other games. By the same virtue, Bellingham escaped a second sending off for foul-mouthed abuse of the referee over the weekend, which could have resulted in a lengthy ban had the referee admonished him.