Ref remarks, according to Carlo Ancelotti, were translated incorrectly.
Vinicius Junior had given Real Madrid the lead in the score, but a penalty called on a VAR review and given to Cristhian Stuani brought them back. Although it looked like Marco Asensio impacted the ball with his hand, Real Madrid maintains that it did not.
Prior to Real Madrid’s match against Celtic in their last Champions League group match, Ancelotti claimed his remarks had been mistranslated in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. He had first taken issue with the referee depriving them of two points for what was reportedly a “fabricated penalty.”
They have filed a legal grievance against me for what I stated. In Italy, the term “fabricated penalty” (rigore inventato) refers to a punishment that wasn’t really a punishment. There is no evidence of bad faith or accusing a referee of a plot. I only said what everyone else believed; I never showed disrespect to a referee. I’ve seen 1,200 games from the sidelines; if I miss four of them, nothing occurs. Because of what they communicated to us at the start of the season, I didn’t consider it a penalty. Just stating that it is a mistake is sufficient. Nobody is perfect.
If Ancelotti is found guilty of challenging the referee’s honesty, he may be suspended for two to four games. The disciplinary committee’s judgment may be influenced by whether Ancelotti implied the referee had bad motives, even as he continued to criticize them and place the responsibility for the loss on them.
He was questioned once again and repeated his opinions on the punishment, however.
“It was not a punishment for us. The situation with football is still unclear. I need them to clarify the rule to me since I am well aware of it. They have clarified that this was not a punishment.
The Italian is alluding to the regulation that states a ball should not be considered a handball if it deflects off of a body part and onto the arm. However, if the arm is in an unnatural position—which the referee could have clearly seen since Asensio’s arm was high and away from his body—that rule does not apply.
