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Alex Kirkland
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Rodrigo Faez
Feb 4, 2025, 08:49 AM ET
Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid‘s formal complaint over refereeing was “an opportunity to change things” on Tuesday, after the club’s board called for an overhaul of what they said is “a completely discredited refereeing system.”
Madrid — who have frequently slammed refereeing standards in LaLiga — were angered by the decision not to send off Espanyol defender Carlos Romero for a challenge on Kylian Mbappé in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at the RCDE Stadium, with Romero later scoring the winning goal.
The board sent a letter to the Spanish football federation (RFEF) and Sports Ministry (CSD) on Monday, saying the decision represented “a level of manipulation and adulteration which cannot be ignored” and asking for the release of audio recordings of conversations between on-field referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz and VAR official Javier Iglesias Villanueva surrounding the Mbappé challenge, and an earlier disallowed goal.
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“Something happened which was inexplicable. What the letter from the board asks for is an explanation, and that seems correct to me,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday, in a news conference ahead of Madrid’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal at Leganés.
“It’s the moment to change something. If they don’t give an explanation, that means there’s a problem, and when there’s a problem, something has to change.”
In a statement responding to Madrid’s letter, the RFEF criticised “generalized accusations” which it said “erodes the credibility of football as a whole.”
“It could be an opportunity to change something,” Ancelotti said. “Everybody complains, and that means that nobody is happy. So it could be an opportunity to change things.
Madrid are facing a defensive injury crisis, with two senior centre-backs — Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba — joining an already injured third, Éder Militão, in the treatment room.
After Wednesday’s cup tie at Leganés, Real host Atlético in the Madrid Derby on Saturday, before visiting Manchester City in their Champions League knockout phase playoff first leg.
“Unfortunately in the last two days we’ve lost two important players, that’s something we hadn’t considered,” Ancelotti said, when asked about the club’s decision not to sign a defender in the January window.
“Alaba was going to play tomorrow, because he was feeling good… It’s an emergency moment we have to deal with. The return of Alaba is delayed by 15 to 20 days, and Rüdiger too. We’ll deal with it, we have [youngster] Jacobo [Ramón] coming back, who can contribute too.”
“[Fede] Valverde won’t play at centre-back, but he could play at full-back,” Ancelotti said, when asked about available defensive options. “Jacobo could play, Raúl [Asencio] could play and [Aurélien] Tchouaméni could play… [Tchouameni] might have played well, or not so well, but he’s always delivered. He’s made some mistakes, but I can’t remember a clear mistake from Tchouaméni which has cost us a goal.”
Ancelotti also revealed that neither Jude Bellingham nor Mbappé would feature against Leganés, while Vinícius Júnior might. “Bellingham had a hematoma from a knock, he couldn’t train, and he won’t be available tomorrow,” Ancelotti said.
“We’ve given Vinícius an extra day’s rest, but he’ll be available… Mbappé got an extra day’s rest yesterday because he had a hematoma on his calf. Today he trained, but tomorrow he won’t be available for the game.”
