Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday and were forced to contend with Bellingham’s first-half red card which saw him dismissed by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero for using a foul word towards him during a moment of frustration. Manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke on the incident and revealed that it was a simple misunderstanding.
”When Bellingham was sent off, (the referee) didn't understand English well, because he said f*** off, not f*** you. Which in Spanish is ‘don't f*** with me’,” Ancelotti explained.
The England midfielder also claimed that his dismissal was due to a misunderstanding with the referee which has now been backed up by a past interview by Ronaldo who stated that Bellingham's outburst is a cultural expression that the Spanish referees do not understand.
“You have to be a little flexible sometimes,” Ronaldo told La Sexta in 2018. “For example, I played in England for many years. They often say that is your normal expression and the referee does not interpret that you are attacking him.
“The English say ‘f*** off’ a lot and the referees do nothing. If you say it here, they’ll send you out on the street. You have to be a little flexible.”
Bellingham spoke on the ordeal and how his foul language was not aimed at the referee much like Ronaldo suggested which may help overturn his potential lengthy ban be overturned in Madrid’s title-chasing season.
“I never insulted the referee, I’m glad to see there are the videos to show the reality despite the referee’s report,” Bellingham said. “I’m here to apologise to my teammates as I put them in a difficult situation today. I didn’t say anything bad to the referee. It’s clear that there was a communication error.
“It’s an expression like the Spanish one ‘joder’… and the consequence is that he left us with one less player. It’s not an insult, it was an expression for myself.”