Ancelotti justifies his sending-off against Japan: the referee lacked experience and it affected the result
The Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti launched an attack on the referee of the friendly match that Brazil lost to Japan 3-2 today, Saturday, claiming that his decisions affected the result of the encounter, and insisting that he did not have the necessary experience to manage a match of this level.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", Ancelotti was sent off during the defeat to Japan. He explained what earned him the red card and took aim at the officials who handled the friendly.
The Italian coach saw red in stoppage time, at the same moment as Raphinha, after Japan's third goal. Brazil had protested a possible foul on João Gomes in the build-up to that goal.
Ancelotti said during the press conference: "The referee told me that I could not keep the bench under control, which is why he showed me the red card."
He added: "As for the result, I think we put in a good performance for 70 minutes, which is what we want to achieve. As part of the test we were looking to carry out, we became more vulnerable defensively, because we wanted to press more in the forward areas."
His assessment of the match went further: "I think the analysis of the game shows that we did not start well, we did not have the required defensive cover, and we also lacked balance. The team kept stopping play because it thought the referee would award fouls."
He went on: "We managed to score two goals and draw level, and we could have secured the win in the final minutes through Endrick. It is a shame the match ended with this result."
More positives followed: "There are many positives, and some players also made their debut. We showed good quality, but the result was affected by the referee's conduct, as he was not awarding the fouls."
Ancelotti was careful not to lay it all at the referee's door: "Nevertheless, I do not want to place the blame on him alone. It is a high-level match, and he did not have the necessary experience to manage a fixture of this kind."
Defeat or not, the Italian coach reckoned Brazil took something away. He is intent on developing the players handed a chance this window, with another match against Singapore to come in the current international break.
Ancelotti said: "The aim is to develop the players who take part. We have new players who joined during this period. I said yesterday that I am pleased with the young players, and in March we will work on reducing the size of the group somewhat."
He signed off: "I am satisfied with what we produced on the pitch. The start was not good, but we conducted ourselves well afterwards, we succeeded in drawing level, and then we tried to secure the win."
