Carlo Ancelotti has questioned the decision from referee Artur Dias to show him a yellow card, after the Italian was spotted protesting furiously on the touchline during Real Madrid's draw with Manchester City on Tuesday. Ancelotti was left incensed by the nature of City's equaliser in the 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu and earned himself a warning from the official, but the head coach insisted he did nothing wrong.
The Italian found himself in hot water with the Portuguese official after he was spotted ranting and gesticulating furiously on the touchline seconds after Kevin de Bruyne had levelled for City, following Vinicius Junior's stunning 25-yard opener.
At the time, it was unclear exactly what had angered Ancelotti after De Bruyne's superb drilled effort. But replays later showed Bernardo Silva may have touched the ball out of play around 30 seconds before De Bruyne's equaliser went in.
Ancelotti could be seen protesting to the referee and fourth official claiming that the goal should have been allowed to stand. However, the 61-year-old admitted he was left in the dark as to why he actually received the caution after insisting he did nothing out of line.
"I don't know why," Ancelotti told BT Sport after the game. "I was not on the pitch. I think he could give a yellow card to the player, not the manager."
Several Real Madrid players had stepped onto the pitch in the aftermath of the goal, including substitute Lucas Vazquez, and it remains possible Dias booked Ancelotti for failing to control his players in the technical box.
Former Arsenal manager and FIFA's chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, working inside the beIN Sports studio as a pundit, sympathised with Ancelotti after reviewing the incident after the game: "VAR should have checked Bernardo Silva's controlling the ball out of play," the 73-year-old said.
It was later claimed by the broadcaster that 3D technology proved the whole ball had gone past the white line. However, some would have argued Real Madrid had enough time to reset their defence after possession changed hands, which only adds to the confusion as to whether the goal should have stood.
Ancelotti believed his side were in control of the tie despite being on the back foot for most of the first half and gave an insight into his tactical thinking after the equaliser.
"An interesting game. [It was] difficult for us in the first half and the second half was much better. We had good control in the game," he added.
"When they had lots of possession we were in control defensively then when we started to play the ball we caused difficulties. We had to keep our positions defensively then when we got the opportunity, we scored the first goal."
