Carlo Ancelotti is adamant his players “didn’t do anything” wrong in the wake of their Champions League win over Atletico Madrid and is “confident” UEFA will come to the same conclusion.
The governing body opened an investigation into the behaviour of four Los Blancos stars after Ancelotti’s side squeezed past bitter local rivals Atletico on March 12 on penalties to book a Champions League quarter-final clash with Arsenal.
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos have all been accused of “indecent conduct” while celebrating the victory which steeped in controversy after Julian Alvarez’s penalty was chalked off as the former City striker was deemed to have hit his shot with one foot onto the other.
Rudiger scored the winning penalty and was pictures making an alleged throat-slitting gesture towards the Atletico fans having danced around the pitch in celebration, while footage emerged on social media of Mbappe grabbing his crotch.
All four are reportedly at risk of a ban which could rule them out of the first leg against Arsenal on April 8, although a fine is the more likely punishment if they’re found guilty.
Asked for a response to the probe, Ancelotti said on Friday: “We are confident on UEFA investigation. We wait for verdict, but our players didn’t do anything wrong’.
“We are confident in UEFA’s verdict as the players had just celebrated, that’s it.”
Jude Bellingham was fined €30,000 at Euro 2024 last summer and given a one-match suspended ban for grabbing his crotch following his late equaliser during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the last 16.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone was fined €20,000 for a similar celebration against Juventus in the Champions League in 2019.
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A ban for any of the four players would represent a huge boost for Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, who is well aware of the challenge facing his side against the 15-time champions.
“The first thing is that you have to be at your best when it comes to that for the two games, for every minute,” he said. “Don’t give anything away, because they’re going to take it. And today, we’ve seen that with the two goals that we’ve conceded as well, so that’s a big learning.
“In the end, the game is going to be decided in the boxes, individual talent, individual performances is crucial, and then creating an unbelievable atmosphere when we have the opportunity to play at home, that is crucial.”
Arteta also highlighted the importance of Arsenal being Champions League quarter-finalists in successive seasons.
“Why is it important? Because we want to win. And to win, you’re going to have to go through the stages. And because the club needs it,” Arteta added.
“We are a club, a team that wants to be the best and wants to be competing with the best clubs in the world. And in order to do that, you have to constantly be there.
“And it’s very difficult. But we’ve done it for two years in a row. And we have the capacity and the ability to do it even better.”