Ancelotti confident UEFA will not ban star quartet
Carlo Ancelotti has expressed confidence that Real Madrid will not see a quartet of key players banned for its UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Arsenal.
UEFA announced on Friday (AEDT) it had opened an investigation into alleged misconduct from a series of Madrid players in the wake of its recent European win over Atletico Madrid, including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos.
Madrid eliminated its neighbour in a controversial UEFA Champions League Round of 16 penalty shootout, with Julian Alvarez seeing his successful kick disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review ruled he had touched the ball twice.
The quartet of players is being investigated over its conduct during the post-match celebrations, and Spanish media reports have said bans could be handed out, leaving the four players suspended for the quarter-final against Arsenal, which will take place over two legs on 9 and 16 April (AEDT).
"We believe everything was correct, and we hope UEFA makes a decision, but we trust that everything will end well," Ancelotti said.
UEFA did not detail the incidents under review, but Spanish media reported Atletico had filed a complaint over Madrid's players taunting their fans after the match, leading to objects being thrown at them.
"We are confident in UEFA's verdict as the players had just celebrated. That's it, we wait for verdict, but our players didn't do anything wrong," Ancelotti added.
The Italian also said his side would give everything to retain its LaLiga title, despite trailing leader Barcelona in the standings by three points.
Madrid hosts Leganes in LaLiga on Sunday (AEDT), while Barca faces Girona on Monday (AEDT) just days after having played its re-arranged fixture with Osasuna on Friday (AEDT), which it won 3-0. Atletico, currently four points below Madrid in second, visits Espanyol on Sunday (AEDT).
"Barcelona has an advantage, but we are going to fight until the end. I hope we have 17 matches [in all competitions] left until the end," Ancelotti said.
Madrid will be without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for the match against Leganes because of a muscle strain, but Ancelotti hopes the Belgian and other players will be fit to face Arsenal.
"Courtois has a small issue, and we are trying to recover Ceballos and [Ferland] Mendy for the first leg against Arsenal," Ancelotti said.
"The final stretch of the season starts now, and we have to do it right. The responsibility increases because every match could be decisive."
