Jude Bellingham was sent off last weekend during Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna after being accused of disrespecting referee José Luis Munuera, and he has now received a two-game ban.
The incident occured in the La Liga match on Saturday, and has dominated Spanish media ever since. One Spanish TV channel even brought in an English expert to explain the difference between ‘f*** off’ and ‘f*** you’ to their viewers.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti also tried his best to shed some light on what happened: “I think the referee did not understand Jude Bellingham’s English.
“He said f*** off, not f*** you… that’s way different. I won’t talk more about the referee as I want to be on the bench next week.”
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) put out a statement to support referee Munuera. “The professional referees are absolutely repulsed by the attacks and threats that our colleague Jose Luis Munuera Montero is receiving through social networks.
“These attacks add to the hatred and verbal violence through which we have to carry out our professional work every weekend, and that in the base categories becomes, even more regrettably, physical violence in many cases.”
Bellingham claimed the incident was a “misunderstanding”, meanwhile.
“I do not want to go into the details of what was said, but I didn’t insult the referee,” he said.
“I hope they review the footage because it was a misunderstanding, but I am here to apologise to the team as I put them in a difficult situation.”
He also added in a later statement: “Enough said about the misunderstanding.
“Just wanted to apologise again for leaving my team-mates in such a tough position and thank the fans for their support and understanding.
“See you on Wednesday at home.”
Fortunately for Real, Bellingham is only suspended for league games against Girona and Real Betis, and is eligible to play against Manchester City tonight and against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
