Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that opposition supporters must stop chanting insults at defender Raúl Asencio.
The Spanish giant wednesday’s Copa del Rey semifinal was briefly halted after Real Sociedad fans aimed chants of “Asencio, die” at the defender. Despite having a good game, the young defender was substituted at half-time.
Asencio, 22, has become a regular target for rival supporters due to an investigation into his alleged role in the distribution of a sexually explicit video involving a minor.
“He is doing well now, but he was affected by it,” Ancelotti said in a news conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Real Betis in LaLiga.
“It is normal [to be affected] after what happened in the game. But, after a few days, he’s ready to play tomorrow.
“Something happened that shouldn’t happen, but the protocol was correctly applied. If it happens again, then the officials must apply the protocol again just as the referee did the other day.”
Raul Asencio of Real Madrid (Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images)
The game against La Real was paused just before the break when referee José María Sánchez Martínez was notified of the chants by Madrid captain Vinícius Júnior.
The official activated Spain’s anti-hate protocol, which states that in the first instance, a message is displayed on the stadium’s big screens and read over loudspeakers.
Ancelotti subsequently took Asencio off because of the incident, but the Italian manager said the furore surrounding the academy graduate will not alter his team selections moving forward.
“We feel that this is something that should not happen, full stop,” Ancelotti said. “The insults should not happen, but it will not condition whether I put him in the team or not.”
Asencio is alleged to have shared a sexual video recorded by three other former Madrid academy players of an encounter with two girls, one of whom was a minor, in June 2023.
Earlier this month, a court in the Canary Islands ruled that the investigation against Asencio should continue.
