Arsène Wenger has claimed Real Madrid damaged the image of football following the red cards shown to Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos in the Champions League this week and has called for sanctions from Fifa to prevent other clubs following suit.

Towards the end of Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Ajax on Tuesday José Mourinho appeared to send a message to two of his Real players instructing them to waste time to ensure they were sent off and so serve a suspension before the knockout stages.

Wenger said: "Yes, I think there should be sanctions. I do not want to see that, it's a pity to see that from a big club and, overall, when you see that it gives a bad image of our game – what we don't want. I respect Real Madrid for their quality and for what they are doing but, whether it's them or somebody else, you don't want to see that on the football pitch."

When it was suggested this was cheating the Frenchman said: "You can call what they did what you want, but it's not what you want to see on the football pitch. You want to respect people who pay money to watch a game. What do they want? To watch a football game, not to watch these kind of things. You don't want to accept that.

"You never say that it doesn't cross your mind to do that. You have to be completely honest about it, but when you see how it looks on television, I must say it is the best demonstration to think 'never do that again' because it looks, frankly, horrible.

"If you play, two games later, the biggest game of the season and you have a meaningless game just after and the players can be suspended [for it], it crosses your mind. What happened the other night, though, is the best demonstration that you should not consider it because it looks frankly terrible."

Wenger refused directly to criticise Mourinho, with whom he had a long running spat when the Portuguese was Chelsea manager. "I do not want to go into any individual problem with José Moruinho, I do not need to especially have a go at him," he said. "I just think, overall, as a lover of football you don't want to see it. I'm not better in that than José Mourinho, or more an example than him. I just think when you watch it on television, it doesn't look good."