Ancelotti confident Mbappe and Vinicius will not be suspended

Carlo Ancelotti is confident Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will not be suspended and will be available for the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal.

On Thursday, UEFA confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the conduct of Mbappe, Vinicius, Rudiger and Ceballos after Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. Rudiger was photographed making a "throat-cutting" gesture to Atletico fans, while Mbappe appeared to make a provocative crotch-grabbing gesture in a video that went viral on social media, sparking heated discussions.

If UEFA eventually rules that these players have behaved inappropriately, they could face fines or even suspensions, which would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Real Madrid ahead of their upcoming Champions League knockout match against Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. However, Ancelotti tried to downplay the controversy at the press conference, insisting that his players had not behaved inappropriately.

Ancelotti told the media: "We believe that there is no problem with the players' behavior. We also believe that UEFA will make a fair judgment. We believe that all this will have a satisfactory result."

Although UEFA has not yet announced the specific details of the investigation, Spanish media revealed that Atletico Madrid has officially complained that Real Madrid players provoked visiting fans, which caused angry reactions in the stands and even debris was thrown into the field.

"We trust UEFA's judgement. The players were just celebrating their victory, that's all. Now we just have to wait for the result, but I believe they did nothing wrong."

At the same time, while waiting for UEFA's ruling, Ancelotti also turned his attention back to the domestic arena. In the La Liga championship race, Real Madrid is currently three points behind Barcelona, the leader of the table, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. The Italian coach said that the team will go all out to fight to the end and strive to defend the La Liga title.

"Barcelona currently has the advantage, but we will not give up and will fight to the end. I hope we still have 17 games to play (including league and European competitions)," said Ancelotti.

In the next La Liga match, Real Madrid will face Leganes at home on Saturday, while Barcelona will face Girona, which is in good form, on Sunday.