Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his defender Raul Asencio was “affected” by chants calling for him to die on Wednesday at Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey.

Los Blancos earned a 1-0 semi-final first leg win thanks to Endrick’s goal but there was controversy as home fans chanted “Asencio die” and the match was briefly paused by the referee as a result.

Fans have aimed the chant at the 22-year-old centre-back at various stadiums in recent weeks, but this was the first time the match has been stopped.

Asencio is alleged to have shared a sexually explicit video of a minor recorded by two former Real Madrid youth players, and is under investigation by a Spanish court.

The match was stopped just before half-time after Vinicius reported the chants against Asencio to the referee.

“Vinicius spoke to the referee, the referee stopped the game, he applied the protocol, that was what had to happen,” Ancelotti told reporters.

The coach substituted the defender at half-time for Lucas Vazquez.

“I took him off because of two things, he was affected, and he had a yellow card, so I preferred to take him off,” explained Ancelotti.

“I think nobody likes that a stadium chants for you to die, I think he was affected in that sense.

“He wasn’t exactly happy, I preferred to take him off in case how he was feeling could affect the game.”

Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal added: “The insults should be condemned, we don’t like them… there are other ways to condemn the actions that others may have committed. We don’t think this is the right way.”

A video subsequently emerged on social media of a Real Sociedad fan appearing to make monkey gestures at Vinicius Junior while the game was stopped.

On the pitch, Spanish and European champions Madrid took control of the tie ahead of the second leg on April 1 at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

https://guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/high-society/asencio-affected-by-death-chants-real-madrids-ancelotti/