Carlo Ancelotti Loses His Cool After the Humiliation and Is Ejected

Soccer is on hiatus for the Nations League, a continental competition for national teams open only to UEFA-affiliated federations, and many teams not participating are taking advantage of this break to play friendly matches to prepare for their upcoming fixtures. Among them is Brazil.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team faced Japan on Saturday at the National Stadium in Kallang, a district of the city-state of Singapore, but the Brazilian fans were very disappointed. Takefusa Kubo put Japan ahead in the 15th minute, and four minutes later, Nakamura doubled the lead.

In the 33rd minute, Vinicius pulled one back, and in the 75th minute, the Real Madrid star also scored the equalizer. In the final moments of the match, however, Japan regained the lead thanks to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, who sealed the 3-2 victory.

Disappointment over the result and anger at some of referee Jansen Foo’s calls got the better of Carlo Ancelotti, who railed against the officiating after the final whistle. The Singaporean referee had no choice but to send off the Brazilian head coach.

“The referee gave me a red card because he said I wasn’t able to control the bench and that all the players were on the field—that’s the reason,” Ancelotti said after the game. “The result was obviously influenced by the referee’s attitude, but it’s not his fault: it was a high-level match, and I don’t think he had the necessary experience to officiate a game of this kind.”