Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti said that Kylian Mbappe “is aware of what he has done” and asked to be forgiven after receiving a straight red card against Alaves on Sunday.
In the 38th minute of Madrid’s 1-0 win, Mbappe put in a late, forceful tackle on Alaves’ Antonio Blanco that saw the France forward catch the midfielder high on the leg with his studs.
Match official Cesar Soto Grado initially only gave Mbappe a yellow card but watched the incident on the pitchside monitor after a VAR review before sending off the 26-year-old. The referee’s postgame report said that Mbappe had used “excessive force.”
Ancelotti — who was stepping in for his father Carlo after the Madrid manager was handed a touchline ban for yellow card accumulation — said that Mbappe’s tackle was a result of frustration at challenges made on him earlier in the game, but said that the forward is “not violent.”
“I haven’t spoken to him. First of all, we have to say that Mbappe is not violent, he has asked for forgiveness, he is aware of what he has done,” said Ancelotti. “It’s a red card and he paid for it. Surely the many small fouls made him react like that. It’s not the way to react but surely what happened.”
Sources close to the club, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Mbappe went to apologise to Blanco after the game. The sources said that, although the club accepts the decision, they wish VAR had been as effective in Madrid’s match against Espanyol in February.
Madrid were angered by a decision in that game to award Espanyol defender Carlos Romero a yellow card for a 60th-minute challenge on Kylian Mbappe, which was not upgraded to a red card by VAR. Club officials subsequently met with Spanish refereeing body CTA at the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters to listen to the VAR audio files from the game.
According to La Liga’s disciplinary rulebook, Mbappe is expected to be suspended for two matches, with the maximum sanction being a three-game ban. Rules dictate that if a challenge causes risk but does not produce “harmful” consequences or injure a player, a suspension will be between one and three matches.
Eduardo Camavinga scored the game’s only goal four minutes before Mbappe’s sending off. Alaves were also reduced to 10 players in the 70th minute when left-back Manu Sanchez was dismissed for a high challenge of his own on Vinicius Junior.
Madrid are second in the table, four points behind leaders Barcelona. They host Arsenal on Wednesday, looking to overturn in a 3-0 deficit in the Champions quarter-final second leg.
(Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)