Real Madrid have lost their appeal against Jude Bellingham’s two-match ban in La Liga.
Bellingham, 21, was sent off during Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna on January 15 for swearing at referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero.
The two league fixtures that the England international will miss are a home game against Girona on Sunday and a visit to Real Betis on March 2. Bellingham will also miss the first leg of Madrid’s Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid after accumulating his third booking of the European campaign in their play-off second-leg win over Manchester City on Wednesday.
Following the Osasuna game, the referee’s report stated Bellingham had said “f*** you”, but the midfielder said there had been a “miscommunication” and he had not intended to insult the official. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti claimed after the game that the red card had come about as a result of Bellingham’s use of the phrase “f*** off,” which he said was used to voice his confusion over a decision.
“F*** you” is considered a genuine insult, while “F*** off” in certain contexts is a way of expressing “you’re joking” or “you’re messing around”.
GO DEEPER
Could Mbappe match Ronaldo at Real Madrid? Ancelotti thinks so
Why was Bellingham banned?
Bellingham was suspended for two games by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with the governing body saying he displayed “contemptuous or inconsiderate attitudes towards referees, officials or sports authorities”. Madrid immediately planned to appeal the decision.
“There was no insult,” Bellingham said after the match. “You can see clearly in the video. I remember the incident very well. It was an expression to myself not directed towards the referee. But obviously there was a misunderstanding of what he believes I said to him. It wasn’t an insult at all.
“I’m pretty calm in this situation for saying an expression that I have been saying since I was 16 or 17 years old.”
The decision on Bellingham’s suspension comes amid ongoing tension between Madrid and the Spanish refereeing authorities.
Club executives met with Spanish refereeing body CTA on February 17 to review audio files from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the team’s 1-0 loss against Espanyol on February 1. Madrid took issue with VAR’s decision to not send off Espanyol defender Carlos Romero for a challenge on Kylian Mbappe. Romero only received a yellow card and went on to score the only goal of the game.
On February 8, Atletico Madrid were awarded a controversial penalty against their city rivals when Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was ruled to have stepped on Atletico’s Samuel Lino, with Julian Alvarez scoring from the spot in the 1-1 draw.
Why was Madrid’s appeal rejected?
The RFEF’s appeals committee said Madrid’s argument consisted of arguing that Bellingham had said “f** off” rather than “f** you”, as stated in the referee’s report from the Osasuna game.
It said the club tried to “demonstrate the absence of the insulting or offensive nature” of “f*** off” but added that this was “not relevant” given it had been unable to confirm Bellingham said this.
The appeals committee considered footage from Spanish broadcaster Movistar but said it was “impossible to appreciate with clarity the full content of the expression uttered” as this consisted of a single shot in which the England midfielder turned his back to Munuera Montero as he said the expletive.
The document added that Madrid had submitted an interview with their former striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito as evidence. In that interview, Ronaldo said, “English (players) say a lot, ‘F*** off!’ and the referees? Nothing. If you say that here, they send you to the street.” But the appeals committee said this had not been taken into consideration given it had been unable to verify whether this was the expression used by Bellingham.
(Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
