Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has blamed the referee for their failure to win the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, after it was shown that the ball went out of play in the lead up to Manchester City’s equaliser.
Ahead of Kevin de Bruyne’s excellent finish, the ball wwas deemed to be out of play by Ancelotti and his coaching staff. After the goal went in, Ancelotti and his coaching staff were furious on the touchline, with the Italian receiving a yellow card in the process. Speaking to Movistar+ after the game, Ancelotti explained his thinking.
“It seemed to me that the ball went out. In addition, the previous play was a corner. The referee has not been attentive. And he has given me a yellow card. I have told him that the cards have to be taken from those inside the field, not to those outside”
.@MrAncelotti: "El árbitro no estaba muy atento".
"Para la vuelta tendremos a la afición dentro del corazón". #LaCasaDelFútbol #UCL pic.twitter.com/pNCWarFDXS
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) May 9, 2023
“We have competed, we deserved to win, it was a good game. We have good feelings. The result does not reward us.”
Images from BeIN Sport back up Ancelotti’s claim, which turned into a hot topic of debate on the radio afterwards, with fury that VAR did not intervene. However former referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez explained on Cadena SER that while the ball does exit the pitch, and the rule could be erroneous, VAR could not intervene due to the fact that Eduardo Camavinga recovered the ball, and thus it is deemed a different sequence of play.
That will be little consolation for Madridistas, but Los Blancos did have time to defend the play after that.
Image via Angel Martinez/Getty Images
“VAR could not intervene due to the fact that Eduardo Camavinga recovered the ball, and thus it is deemed a different sequence of play.”
Ahaha what a fantastic technology.