Carlo Ancelotti defends Vinicius after recent suspension

Carlo Ancelotti continues to support Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian received a two-match suspension. This came after a controversial red card in Real Madrid’s recent 2-1 victory over Valencia.

Ancelotti criticised the decision to suspend Vinicius, who was sent off in the 79th minute of the game. The red card followed an incident in which Vinicius shoved Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dmitrievski in the face. This was in response to Dmitrievski trying to pull him up while he was protesting a foul in the penalty area.

The referee, Cesar Soto Grado, consulted VAR and gave Vinicius a straight red card. Although frustrated, Vinicius tried to approach the referee but was quickly stopped by his teammate, Antonio Rudiger, to prevent further trouble.

Following the decision, it was confirmed that Vinicius would miss Real Madrid’s next two La Liga matches, against Las Palmas and Real Valladolid.

Ancelotti, clearly unhappy with the situation, expressed his disapproval of both the red card and the suspension. He had initially felt that the incident warranted only a yellow card. Speaking ahead of their Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Mallorca, he said:

“It’s unfair. I hear the insults and what he suffers. It’s not right. I get tired of it… when people talk about Vinicius’s behaviour, all the insults, abuse, and other things that happen to him are forgotten.”