After six yellow cards for gestures and words directed at referees in Real Madrid's last two La Liga matches against Espanyol and Alavés at the Santiago Bernabéu—making it a total of nine out of the 16 received this season—Carlo Ancelotti has given a clear directive to his players ahead of the Metropolitano derby: avoid "unnecessary protests."

Right after the match against Alavés last Tuesday, where Fede Valverde, Vinícius (for the second consecutive match), and captain Luka Modric all received yellows, Ancelotti pointed out what has become a problem. "The method has changed, and we need to get used to it. We haven't done that yet. We’re getting too many yellows for protesting. We have to avoid them, period. Whether it’s right or wrong, we need to adapt to the new rules," Ancelotti stated.

After reflecting on the matter throughout the week, the Italian coach has addressed it in his locker room talks with the players before a high-stakes match like a derby against Atlético Madrid. Ancelotti has requested that they refrain from protesting to the referee, which could lead to cards that impact the game.

"We’ve talked about it because there have been too many cards for protests in recent matches," he admitted on the eve of the Metropolitano visit. "The only way to avoid this is not to have unnecessary protests in tomorrow's game," he pointed out.