'The people of football do not understand' - Carlo Ancelotti fumes over controversial Atletico Madrid penalty as Real Madrid held to derby draw

Controversy seemingly follows Real Madrid wherever they go at the moment, as the 15-time European champions had a penalty awarded against them by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during their La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid after Aurelian Tchouameni was adjudged to have stamped on Samu Lino's foot. The incident comes just a few days after Los Blancos released a statement criticising referees in the Spanish top flight. Ancelotti has continued the criticism of the referees yet again despite Dani Ceballos getting away without a red card as he put his studs on Pablo Barrios' shin early in the first half.

Speaking to the media after the 1-1 draw, Ancelotti said: "The VAR blew the penalty, [but] the referee was close to the situation and saw what happened.

"I saw that the VAR whistled a similar penalty in Athletic Club against Girona. The people of football do not understand this.

"I don’t want to get into the controversy. I prefer to talk about the match. We came out of the game with a draw, encouraged. The team was good, especially in the second half."

Atletico boss Diego Simeone countered Ancelotti's comments by claiming that referee Cesar Soto Grado handled the game well, but could have shown Ceballos a red card in the first half.

Simeone said: "I thought the referee handled it in the best way he could. For some people, Ceballos deserved a straight red... At least I think he should have checked it in the VAR, but others may disagree. He made his decision and that's his decision to make, and the VAR crew thought that they didn't need to call the ref up. In the end, I thought he did a good job overall."

The draw with Atletico Madrid has firmly put the La Liga title race back into a three-horse race, with Barcelona holding the chance to move to within just two points of Real Madrid if they win against Sevilla on Sunday, February 9.