Carlo Ancelotti has responded to LaLiga president Javier Tebas’ criticism, asserting that Real Madrid’s complaints about refereeing decisions are driven by a desire to “improve things” and “change a system they don’t like.”
Madrid lodged a formal complaint with the Spanish football federation (RFEF) earlier this week, expressing their anger over the decision not to send off Espanyol defender Carlos Romero—who went on to score the winning goal—for a challenge on Kylian Mbappé during Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at the RCDE Stadium last Saturday.
At a meeting of LaLiga clubs with the RFEF and the refereeing body, the CTA, which Madrid chose not to attend, Tebas claimed on Thursday that Madrid had “lost their minds” over the issue, accusing the club of “constructing a narrative of victimhood.”
“It’s something that I’d prefer not to discuss before such an important game,” Ancelotti said in a news conference on Friday, ahead of Real’s crucial derby with title rivals Atlético Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
“But Tebas can stay calm. Nobody here has lost their minds. We’ve asked for an explanation of what happened, to try to improve things, to try to change the system.”
Real Madrid has requested that the federation release the audio recordings of conversations between on-field referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz and video assistant referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva regarding the foul on Kylian Mbappé and an earlier disallowed goal by Vinícius Júnior.
Ancelotti said that request had so far gone unheeded, despite RFEF president Rafael Louzan saying on Thursday that the federation had “nothing to hide.”
“From what I hear, nobody is happy [with referees],” Ancelotti said. “People think it’s a system that favours Real Madrid, but when Real Madrid want to change it, everyone is against it. That surprises me a bit … We haven’t received [the audio]. I don’t know why they don’t want to give it to us. You’d have to ask them.”