Jude Bellingham was sent off for Real Madrid after the referee believed the midfielder had insulted him, but Cristiano Ronaldo understood how to deal with La Liga officials.
Jude Bellingham was left frustrated over his sending off for Real Madrid he felt was unjust – and Cristiano Ronaldo has already shared his advice on how to handle officials in Spain.
Real were held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday as Carlo Ancelotti’s side were forced to contend with Bellingham’s first-half red card. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for the away side, but were forced to share the points following Ante Budmir’s penalty in the 58th minute.
While Ancelotti was left to mull over three possible penalties that were dismissed by the referee, it was Bellingham’s red card that captured the most attention. "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 referee Jose Munuera. However, while Bellingham waits to see if his potential lengthy ban is overturned, past footage of Ronaldo went viral over the weekend where he shared some of his wisdom in terms of dealing with officials before leaving Madrid for Juventus.
"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."
Despite Ronaldo’s warning, Bellingham will hope that the nuances mean he will not be forced to miss matches as Real approach the title run-in.
"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 team-mates 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."
Bellingham will hope the Spanish FA agrees with him as their disciplinary rules state that any player found guilty of "insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, directors, or sports authorities in offensive terms or attitudes" can be suspended for four to 12 games. The maximum punishment would see the midfielder return for the final two matches of the season.
Despite sharing points with Osasuna, Real narrowly remain top of La Liga. Atletico, who are a point behind their city rivals, were also held 1-1 by Celta Vigo after Pablo Barrios was sent off in the seventh minute. Meanwhile, Barcelona can overtake Atletico and Real with a win tonight as they host Rayo Vallecano.