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| Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham Sees Red Card in Controversial Osasuna Clash |
Jude Bellingham has stated that a misunderstanding occurred between him and referee José Luis Munuera regarding the exchange that led to his red card during Real Madrid’s match against Osasuna on Saturday.
Munuera showed the English midfielder a straight red card in the 40th minute after Bellingham appeared to protest a referee’s decision. The pair exchanged words before the referee immediately dismissed him from the game.
Madrid’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti, had already received a yellow card earlier for protesting what he believed to be a handball by an Osasuna defender inside the box, a decision that was not given in Madrid’s favor.
At the time of the dismissal, Real Madrid were leading 1-0, thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé. However, Osasuna’s Ante Budimir later converted a penalty in the second half, securing a 1-1 draw.
Following the match, Bellingham expressed his frustration, believing the referee had misinterpreted his words.
“It’s clear there was a mistake—there was a misunderstanding,” Bellingham told reporters. “I remember exactly what happened, and I’ve also seen the video. The footage doesn’t align with the referee’s report. I won’t go into too much detail about what was said, but it was just an expression, something like ‘joder’ in Spanish.”
He further clarified that he had no intention of leaving his teammates at a disadvantage.
“I want my team to know that I would never be irresponsible enough to intentionally put them in a position where they had to play with ten men,” he added. “I hope the footage is reviewed because it provides strong evidence. We can’t change this game’s result, but I’d like to think that moving forward, incidents like this will be handled more fairly.”
Ancelotti also believed that the red card was a result of a language miscommunication between Bellingham and Munuera.
“I don’t think the referee understood English correctly,” Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference. “Bellingham said ‘f--- off,’ not ‘f--- you.’ The referee made a mistake.”
He explained that in Spanish, the phrase would translate to ‘no me jodas,’ which is not necessarily an offensive remark.
When asked if he planned to discuss the incident with Bellingham, Ancelotti responded, “I don’t need to talk to Bellingham. I’d rather talk to the referee.
“[Bellingham] was complaining about a decision and said something like, ‘If that’s a foul, then it should be a penalty.’ And then he said ‘f--- off.’
“The referee seemed nervous and made an error in translation. Bellingham did nothing today that warranted a red card. It was a mistake.”
The controversy surrounding Bellingham’s dismissal has sparked debate over the consistency of officiating decisions and the role of language barriers in football matches. Real Madrid will now await further review of the incident as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures.
