Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas says it was understandable that young forward Jese showed his frustration at coach Carlo Ancelotti during Sunday's 2-0 La Liga win at Elche.
Jese, 21, spent much of the second half warming up on the touchline at the Estadio Martinez Valero, but was only sent onto the pitch with less than 30 seconds of added time remaining and did not touch the ball once before the final whistle was blown.
Spanish TV station Cuatro captured images showing the youngster clearly unhappy with the situation, returning to the bench, and apparently telling Blancos assistant coach Fernando Hierro: "You can't do this to me, I've been warming up for 40 minutes."
Ancelotti defended the decision at his postgame news conference, saying the change had been planned earlier, but the ball remained in play until just before the final whistle.
Casillas told Canal Plus after the game that the incident was "a pity," and Madrid's senior players could help by explaining that Jese would make a contribution in future.
"It was a pity," the long-serving goalkeeper said. "He was longer than normal on the sideline, but the ball did not go out. I understand in the moment, with everyone heated, that he could feel bad.
"He is an important player for us, he has come back from a serious injury, and we must make him understand how to help us."
Jese scored four goals and made five assists in 18 La Liga appearances last season before suffering a serious knee injury in February 2014. Since returning to full fitness last December he has come off the bench on 10 different occasions, mostly in the last quarter of the match, but not started one game.
His situation contrasts with his former Spain under-21 teammate Isco, who has gained a regular starting place in the Madrid midfield through recent months.
The former Malaga starlet is a firm favourite with Blancos fans and pundits, and Ancelotti knows he will have tough selection decisions to make when more established stars Luka Modric and James Rodriguez return from injury over the next month.
Casillas warned against going over the top with too much early praise for a player who had the potential to be Spain's next big star.
"We are talking about the next most important player to come out of this country," the Spain national captain said. "[Isco] is an extremely nice young guy and we should not distract him. Praise can weaken people quite a lot, but those around him and look after him and protect him."