Ancelotti hits out at referee after Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid: “He has made a mistake” | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s night at Mestalla started poorly, with the league leaders conceding twice in the first half an hour. It was only a Vinicius Jr brace that brought them back into the game and set the occasion for a special winner.

The eventual winning goal arrived in the final seconds of action on the field, and while Real Madrid players began their celebrations, it soon came to their notice that the referee had already blown his whistle. The goal was atrociously not counted, despite the ball being in play as late as during Brahim Diaz’s assist.

As Carlo Ancelotti walked into the interview room for his post-match press conference, he was bombarded by questions surrounding the controversial final play which in his eyes, was a clear mistake from the referee.

“There’s not much to say. Something unprecedented has happened and it’s never happened to me before. After the rebound we had possession. It’s never happened to me before and there’s nothing more to add.”

“We were annoyed by Bellingham’s red card because he didn’t say anything insulting. It was frustration. He said: “It’s a fucking goal” and that’s the truth,” he added.

The Italian tactician then went on to unravel why the referee’s decision to rule out Real Madrid’s goal was unacceptable, especially after he himself allowed the play to continue.

“Had the referee blown the whistle when the Valencia keeper cleared the ball, it would have been right, but he allowed play to continue and we had possession. I think he has made a mistake.”

The Real Madrid players were fuming at the full-time whistle, and rightly so for they had been denied three points in a daylight robbery. Speaking about the mood in the dressing room, Ancelotti said,

“We are upset and angry. It’s normal but we have to get back to normal because we have an important game on Wednesday. In the game, there were good things and things we have to improve upon.”

“We have to cool down a bit because the team is still seething. To cool down you have to look at the table. We can still sleep well tonight,” he added.

Referee in the spotlight after controversial call. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

The manager then came out to defend his player Jude Bellingham once more after the youngster was shown a red card for words that were completely understandable given the match situation.

“The player was clear in what he said. It’s true that he came on vehemently after the goal and that’s normal. It was not an insult at all. Let’s see what the referee writes in the official report.”

Giving his final takeaway from the overall clash that unfolded at Mestalla on Saturday night, the Real Madrid coach said,

“I go away with the feeling that we could’ve lost because we played very badly in the first half, but also that we could’ve won by coming from behind, as we have done on other occasions. I’m left somewhere in between.”

As he neared the end of his interview, Ancelotti praised Vinicius Jr for his special brace on the night which helped Los Blancos engineer a comeback from 2-0 down and salvage a point.

“He played a very good game. He was a determining factor for us. He was more effective in the box than he was outside it. Foulquier did an outstanding job to counter him. He scored two very important goals for us.”

Finally, Ancelotti was asked if his side were losing steam and going through a lean patch, considering their unconvincing results in the past four games.

“I’m not worried. It was a very complicated match for many reasons. Our opponents are strong, aggressive and well-organised,” he said.

“They created a lot of problems for us in the first half, but we were able to get into the game eventually. We have to continue in the same vein because at this stage of the season a point here could be crucial,” he added.

Source: Real Madrid website