Jude Bellingham could be given renewed hope in his battle to avoid an extended ban following his x-rated rant against Osasuna which saw him sent off, after a similar Mason Greenwood red card incident has come to light.
Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham was shown a red card by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero for foul and abusive language 39 minutes into Los Blancos‘ draw at El Sadar Stadium.
The Spanish referee accused the former Birmingham City wonderkid of shouting ‘f*** you’ in his direction, as Bellingham vented his frustration.
Nevertheless, Bellingham’s account of the scenario is different, with the 21-year-old adamant that he said ‘f*** off’. He also claimed that the language used was aimed at himself in frustration, rather than at the match official.
In LaLiga, red cards where a player is guilty of ‘insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, directors, or sports authorities in offensive terms or attitudes’ is punishable with a suspension of four to 12 matches.
However, just last season former Manchester United star Mason Greenwood had a red card for bad language towards a referee rescinded by the Spanish FA.
Jude Bellingham was sent off for shouting ‘f*** you’ towards the referee in a draw with Osasuna
Bellingham seemed incensed as he walked off the pitch and adamant that he said ‘f*** off’ at himself
Mason Greenwood was dismissed in a similar incident while on loan at Getafe last season, but the Spanish FA later overturned the decision
In January last year, while on loan at Getafe, Greenwood was sent off by Jorge Figueroa Vasquez in a fiery 2-0 defeat by Rayo Vallecano in January 2024, with the match official claiming the now Marseille forward shouted ‘f*** you’ at him.
However, Getafe chose to appeal the decision at the time after believing he had not been venting his frustrations at the referee, but instead at himself by saying ‘f*** sake!’.
The Spanish FA then overturned the decision after finding that Greenwood had in fact sworn over the amount of times he had been fouled, rather than aiming a deliberate X-rated remark directly at Vasquez.
‘The task of this disciplinary body is not to re-referee the matches, without determining, where appropriate, the existence of a manifest material error in the referee’s description of the action,’ the Spanish FA said.
‘The repeated viewing of the images, in fact, has allowed this Committee to conclude, beyond any doubt, that the action that led to the expulsion did not occur as described by the referee and, ultimately, prove the material error manifest in the referee’s report.
‘These images demonstrate that the player actually said ‘One, two, three, four, f***.’
The outcome of that inquest may serve as some much-needed optimism for Bellingham, with Madrid reportedly set to use the Greenwood red card case in a potential appeal, according to AS.
The England star was determined to make it clear that the red card was due to a misunderstanding when speaking to reporters after the match.
Greenwood was later found to be venting his frustrations at being fouled rather than swearing directly at the match official
Bellingham has stated his situation as just ‘a miscommunication’ and Madrid may turn to the Greenwood incident last season in an potential appeal, according to reports
‘It’s clear that it was a mistake and there is a miscommunication,’ said Bellingham. ‘I remember the incident very well but I’ve also seen the video and the video doesn’t match the report.
‘I don’t want to go too much in detail about what was said but it’s like a expression like “joder”. I hope that the footage review can show that is not the same as the report and going forward that the federation can keep it under consideration because it’s huge evidence.
‘Obviously, we can’t change the result but I think that going forward there will be a change.
‘There was no insult. 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.’
If the midfielder’s red card is upheld, he will at the very least miss Madrid’s La Liga bouts with Girona, Betis, and Rayo Vallecano, as well as the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.
