Ancelotti suspended for final two Liga games

Real Madrid will have to contest their La Liga run-in without coach Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout after he was hit with a two-match touchline ban.

The charge relates to Real’s 2-2 draw with Valencia last weekend, when Ancelotti allegedly sarcastically applauded match referee Carlos Clos Gomez.

Ancelotti was found to be in breach of the Spanish Football Federation’s rule 117, which declares that  anyone who “address referees, managers or officials in terms or attitudes of contempt or disregard…are punishable by suspension”.

The Italian will serve the sanction for the matches away to Espanyol and at home to Getafe, as Real attempt to overhaul Barcelona’s four-point advantage at the summit.

Real take on Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final, with Barcelona awaiting the victors.