Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka has rejected claims that his side are too aggressive on the pitch in the wake of the dismissals of Fabio Coentrao and Angel Di Maria in their 1-1 Copa del Rey draw against Valencia on Wednesday.

The Blancos have now seen five players sent off since the winter break, with Antonio Adan, Sergio Ramos and Kaka preceding the aforementioned duo, but the 39-year-old feels his players are being treated unfairly.

“We don’t have aggressive players. The images are there for all to see. You only have to watch them to reach the right conclusion,” he stated at the post-match press conference.

“The majority of the game was played without aggression, yet we have had Coentrao and Di Maria sent off. People have watched the match and they’ve all seen that we had two players sent off. It’s surprising …”

Madrid set up a semi-final clash with either Malaga or Barcelona, despite the red cards.