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, when Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr and Luka Modric were shown yellow cards for protesting against refereeing decisions. The atmosphere became even more tense when fans at the Bernabeu began chanting insults against the Spanish Football Federation.
After the match, Ancelotti shared that he and his players need to adapt to the new rules of the tournament, referring to limiting the number of times they "argue" with 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 center of controversy in La Liga. Last season, Jude Bellingham was suspended for 2 matches just because he argued with "the man in black" Jesus Gil Manzano after the controversial decision to blow the whistle for full time. In total, in 380 matches of La Liga 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 (a rate of 0.83 cards/match). It can be felt that the rules are getting more and more harsh and the frustration of the players is also increasing.
Of the 9 yellow cards Real Madrid have received since the start of the season, Vinicius has received 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 fourth official and smiling sarcastically when he gently reminded him about the number of minutes of extra time.
Dani Carvajal picked up two yellow cards, one against Las Palmas and the other against Real Betis. However, the most puzzling yellow card was Kylian Mbappe's against Espanyol. The Frenchman was flagged offside after a long pass from Fede Valverde. Mbappe then waved dismissively at Munuera Montero and was called back for a booking.
Not only La Liga, referees in other top leagues are also becoming stricter. This idea was applied from EURO 2024 after an initiative by UEFA. Only players who are captains are allowed to argue with the referee, the rest will be carded for misconduct if they try. In fact, this has been in the works for a long time but has never become an official law until EURO 2024.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, were not happy about receiving so many yellow cards for such a reaction. The club's TV channel even used words like "useless", "abuse of authority", "arrogant and attitude" to target referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz in the match against Alaves.
Real Madrid TV believes there is an underground force in the league working against Los Blancos. This anger comes from the time Barcelona paid 7.3 million Euros to the former Vice President of the Spanish Referee Committee - Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Real Madrid supporters have been critical of referees ever since. Chants of "Negreira! Negreira!" were heard throughout the Bernabeu during the match against Alaves.
As for Carlo Ancelotti, he seemed calmer despite complaining about the referees many times. This veteran strategist believes that the club needs to adapt to the game. Although he was given 3-4 yellow cards for his reaction in the match against Alaves, it is something the players should gradually get used to to avoid repeating.
