Jude Bellingham (in white jersey) has been cautioned about his behaviour
England manager Thomas Tuchel has admonished Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham to act appropriately in matches, regardless of the results.
Bellingham had his equaliser in England’s 3-1 friendly defeat by Senegal on June 10, 2025, overturned by the Video Assistant Referee after a Levi Colwill handball in the build-up.
After the game, Bellingham kicked the ball away and made a beeline for one of the officials before kicking a drinks cooler in frustration, only for England captain Harry Kane to usher him away and back onto the pitch.
During the post-match press conference, Tuchel expressed his disappointment with the former Dortmund midfielder’s actions, saying that his mother sometimes finds his attitude “repulsive” as he urged the Real Madrid playmaker to channel his “edge” towards the opposition rather than intimidating his teammates.
He advised the midfielder to invest his energy in matches but not to intimidate his opponents, acknowledging that he is a special talent.
“I think he brings an edge which we welcome and is needed if we want to achieve big things. It needs to be channeled towards the opponent and towards our goal, not to intimidate teammates or be over-aggressive towards teammates and officials, but always towards the solution, towards winning.
“He has the fire, and I don’t want to dim it down. He should play with this kind of fire, but the fire comes with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a teammate. If he smiles, he wins everyone as he is a special talent. But sometimes you see the rage, the hunger, and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV,” the former Chelsea boss remarked.
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Meanwhile, watch the latest edition of Sports Check with former Hearts of Oak midfielder Frederick Ansah Botchway
