Real Madrid’s full-back Dani Carvajal was lucky to escape a red card after he threw a punch at the Atlético Madrid forward Mario Mandzukic in Tuesday’s 0-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg draw – but has denied biting the striker.
The pair tangled in the second half and television replays showed Carvajal clearly threw at least one punch at the Croatia international in an incident apparently missed by the referee.
Spanish media even suggested Carvajal had tried to bite Mandzukic’s arm although it was impossible to tell conclusively from footage published on social media. However, Carvajal has said: “I want to make it clear that I have not bitten anyone”.
Real’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti, and his Atlético counterpart Diego Simeone were asked about the incident at their post-match news conferences, and whether they thought European governing body Uefa might take action, but both said they had not seen it.
