Just after the hard-fought victory against Valencia CF at Mestalla, Carlo Ancelotti appeared at the press conference to share his thoughts on Vinicius Junior’s red card.
Real Madrid finally takes the top spot in La Liga. Returning to competition in the new year, Carlo Ancelotti and his players did not falter in the postponed match of La Liga’s 12th round against Valencia. With a surprising starting XI featuring Ferland Mendy’s return on the left side of the defence and Camavinga absent from the lineup, the Italian coach opted for a front three (Vinicius – Mbappé – Rodrygo) to start the game. After a challenging first half where the team was trailing, events took an unexpected turn in the second half.
Vinicius Junior’s avoidable red card
Undoubtedly tense in a stadium where he has often been subjected to racist chants (as he was last year), Vinicius Junior, struggling to make an impact, snapped in the 79th minute. Provoked by Valencia’s goalkeeper following another Real Madrid offensive, the 2024 FIFA The Best Award and Globe Soccer Award winner responded to the provocation with a shove deemed violent conduct.
After a VAR review, the match official, César Soto Grado, issued a red card, which many deemed a justified decision. At the post-match press conference—after the game turned in his team’s favour in the dying minutes, thanks to a decisive goal by Jude Bellingham—Carlo Ancelotti did not hold back.
Ancelotti says Real will appeal: the red card was undeserved
Initially, the Italian coach expressed his disagreement with the referee’s decision:
“We believe it wasn’t a red card but two yellow cards. We will appeal. He was sent off, but the team responded to this adversity, just as they reacted to the missed penalty. I didn’t say anything; I congratulated the players and told them the same as I’m saying here. It was a touch from the goalkeeper and then a push. I think two yellow cards would have been sufficient, and it should have ended there,” Carletto initially explained to the media.
Although his protégé risks a heavy sanction for this act, which is severely punished under the rules of the Spanish Football Federation, Carlo Ancelotti announced that Real Madrid will appeal the red card. While Vinicius Junior has apologised for his actions, which many observers deemed excessive, Don Carlo refused to call it a trap set for his player: “I wouldn’t say he fell into a trap. He tried to do the right thing, as he always does. Sometimes it works, sometimes less so. But it’s done now. I hope he can play the next match. He remains a key player for us.”
In any case, according to early reports, Vinicius Junior’s actions could cost the team dearly. As Sami Khedira and several football legends have pointed out recently, the 24-year-old Brazilian star needs to seriously work on his temperament, which is not serving him well at all.
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