Last season, Real Madrid received 14 yellow cards for reacting to referees. In just the past 7 rounds, this number is 9, which is an alarming sign for Carlo Ancelotti and his team.
Things started to get tense in the win over Alaves on September 25, with Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr and Luka Modric receiving yellow cards for reacting to the referee's decision. The atmosphere became more tense when fans at the Bernabeu stadium began singing songs mocking the Spanish Football Federation.
After the match, Ancelotti shared that he and his students need to adapt to the new rules of the tournament, referring to limiting the times they "tease" the referee. Previously, in the match against Espanyol, Kylian Mbappe received a yellow card for raising his hand in a contemptuous manner towards the referee.
Since last season, referees have always been the focus of controversy in La Liga. Last season, Jude Bellingham was suspended for 2 matches just for a fight with "black shirt king" Jesus Gil Manzano after a controversial decision to blow the perfect time. In the total of 380 La Liga matches last season, teams received 258 yellow cards for reacting (a rate of 0.68 cards/match). This season, after 70 matches, that number has increased to 50 (rate of 0.83 cards/match). It can be felt that the rules are getting harsher and the frustration of the players is also greater.
Of the 9 yellow cards Real Madrid have received since the beginning of the season, Vinicius has the most 3. In the win over Alaves, the Brazilian striker received a yellow card before being substituted. If he is unlucky, Vinicius could receive another card for pointing at the 4th referee and laughing at the clever mention of the number of minutes of extra time.
Dani Carvajal has received 2 cards, one in the match against Las Palmas, the other in the match against Real Betis. However, the most confusing yellow card was Kylian Mbappe's against Espanyol. The French striker was offside after a long pass from Fede Valverde. Mbappe then waved his hand in a contemptuous manner towards Munuera Montero and was called back to receive a card.
Not only La Liga, referees in other top leagues are also being more strict. The idea has been adopted since EURO 2024 following a UEFA initiative. Only the players who are captains have the right to argue with the referee, the remaining players, if they intentionally do so, will have to receive cards for their violations. In fact, this has been a long time since it was formed but has never become an official law until before EURO 2024.
As for Real Madrid, they did not feel comfortable receiving too many yellow cards for such a reaction. The club's TV channel also used words such as "useless", "abusing power", "arrogance and attitude" to target referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz in the match against Alaves.
Real Madrid TV believes there is an underlying force in the tournament against Los Blancos. This outrage comes from the time Barcelona spent 7.3 million Euros on former Vice President of the Spanish Arbitration Commission - Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Real Madrid fans have always had a crush on referees since that incident. The chants of "Negreira! Negreira!" appeared throughout the Bernabeu stands in the match against Alaves.
As for Carlo Ancelotti, he appeared calmer despite many complaints about the referee. The veteran strategist believes that the club needs to adapt to the game. Despite being fined 3-4 yellow cards for reacting in the match against Alaves, that is also something that players should gradually get used to to to avoid repeating.
