Carlo Ancelotti responds as four Real Madrid stars face possible Arsenal ban

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·28 de março de 2025

Carlo Ancelotti responds as four Real Madrid stars face possible Arsenal ban

Kylian Mbappe, Vinícius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos could miss the huge Champions League showdown

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Carlo Ancelotti insists his players have "done nothing wrong" after UEFA opened an investigation into the behaviour of four of his squad following Real Madrid’s Champions League win over Atletico Madrid.

Kylian Mbappe, Vinícius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos have all been accused of "indecent conduct" while celebrating the controversial victory over Atletico on March 12.

Rudiger has been pictured allegedly making a throat-slitting gesture towards Atletico fans in the afternoon of his winning spot-kick in the penalty shootout, while footage of Mbappe grabbing his crotch during celebrations has reportedly circulated on social media.

Standard Sport understands that all four under investigation are at risk of a ban, which would rule them out of the first leg of the upcoming Champions League quarter-final first leg against Arsenal.

Antonio Rudiger’s celebration after Real Madrid beat Atletico

Angel Martinez/Getty Images

A fine is considered the more likely punishment for any guilty verdicts, but it any case it remains unclear if the investigation will be resolved before Madrid face Arsenal.

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 his crotch-grabbing gesture.

The midfielder grabbed his crotch after scoring a late equaliser during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in their last-16 match.

In 2019, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone was fined €20,000 for a similar celebration against Juventus in the Champions League.

The Argentine turned towards fans and grabbed his crotch after Jose Maria Gimenez scored the first goal in a 2-0 win.