Former referee Iturralde González expressed his displeasure over Carlo Ancelotti’s defense of Vinicius, saying he found the coach’s comments laughable. During a recent appearance on Carrusel Deportivo, Iturralde highlighted the challenges referees face in relation to the Brazilian player.
Vinicius has been in the spotlight in recent days, having received a two-match ban for punching Dimitrievski in the face during a match at Valencia – a punishment which could have been harsher. His name resurfaced again during the Supercopa de España semi-final against Mallorca, following an incident with Pablo Maffeo and images of him having to be restrained in the tunnel, an all too familiar scenario.
Carlo Ancelotti defended Vinicius in a press conference, saying: “It’s difficult to be Vinicius. Like him, I hear the insults, and I believe that the two-match suspension is not fair. » These comments were not well received by Iturralde, a former high-level referee who now shares his analyzes on Carrusel Deportivo. The discussion turned to whether referees should be more open and communicative, to which Iturralde retorted: “When you try to share the way you work and the whole process involved in refereeing a match high profile, but face nothing but insults, denigration and scorn from the media, you begin to question why you should open up. I choose not to; I stand by this decision. »
Read more:
Kluivert aims for World Cup glory with Indonesia
To illustrate the difficulties faced by referees, Iturralde used Ancelotti’s statements in defense of Vinicius to criticize the Italian. “I was listening to Ancelotti’s comments, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He said, ‘It’s very difficult to be Vinicius because he gets insults in every stadium.’ And what about the referees? In Spain? » Iturralde clarified that “Vinicius will face insults in 19 matches, while for the other 19 he plays at home, he is simply applauded. »
Read more:
Vitor Roque involved in a swap that could land a star at Barca
The criticism did not stop there. Iturralde highlighted Real Madrid TV’s continuing tendency to target referees just before they officiate the team’s next match. “I ask Ancelotti: is it easy to be a referee with all the videos that your club’s television produces? This predisposes fans to think that referees are biased or favor a particular team… This is the tone adopted by Real Madrid TV. If he is brave enough to say that it is difficult to be Vinicius, then he should also comment on what he thinks of referees after seeing these videos produced by the club. Listen to his thoughts. Or does he think that because referees aren’t ‘people’ it doesn’t matter? I will tell him this: it is much more difficult to be a referee than to be Vinicius. Because Vinicius, like it or not, has the worldwide recognition that a referee will never have.
Read more:
Olmo affair: Football legend denounces Barcelona cheating
Iturralde refused to soften the situation surrounding Vinicius, acknowledging: “There are 1,000, 2,000, even 100,000 individuals who cross the line and insult Vinicius, especially with racist remarks. It’s undeniable. However, he enjoys worldwide recognition far greater than that of any referee. This is something a referee will never possess, which is attributed to all the campaigns suggesting that referees should favor players. Nobody wants justice; everyone just wants to gain an advantage. »
