Carlo Ancelotti fires back at Atletico CEO over claims of Real Madrid referee pressure
By Tom Gott
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed claims from Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin that Los Blancos put pressure on referees during games.
Atleti were incensed during their recent Copa del Rey defeat at the Bernabeu, in which Stefan Savic was shown two yellow cards but Dani Ceballos avoided punishment for similar infractions. Marin published a lengthy statement to suggest that officials are subconsciously scared of deciding against Real.
Asked about Gil Marin's comments, Ancelotti acknowledged that there may have been certain pressures in decades gone by but insisted there is nothing of the sort these days.
"I have not read the comments, though I have heard something," Ancelotti said. "I don't want to talk about it. The only thing I can say is that my character is my character and I respect to all opinions.
"It was a competitive match, an even match. I think for our part we deserved to win. The rest are matters I won't talk about."
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Ancelotti was then asked for his feelings on referees in general, and he was full of praise for modern officials in Spain and across Europe.
"It is very complicated for them. It seemed that with VAR it could help. There is no longer talk about offside, for example," he explained. "But everything that is not objective can create controversy. The corruption of the 60s and 70s is gone. In general, refereeing has improved a lot across Europe."
The red card drama was the latest frustration in what has been a difficult season for Atletico, who sit ten points behind Real in La Liga and find themselves in a real battle just to stay in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.
Real themselves are six points adrift of leaders Barcelona but they will have the chance to close that gap when they face third-placed Real Sociedad on Sunday.