Bellingham Loses Control: The Red Card That Left Real Madrid with Ten Against Osasuna

Real Madrid stumbled again this Saturday against Osasuna (1-1) in a match where, in addition, they lost Jude Bellingham due to expulsion. Referee José Luis Munuera Montero showed a direct red card to the 'merengue' midfielder for insulting him during a claim. After the match, 'Movistar' cameras captured the phrase that led the main referee to show him the direct red card, without any VAR incident.

"I'm talking to you with respect. Fuck off" ("Te estoy hablando con respeto. Jódete"), the Englishman reportedly told the main referee while claiming a foul in favor of Osasuna in a similar play where, minutes earlier, the midfielder had claimed a penalty. The Andalusian referee understood the insult from the '5' and did not hesitate to expel him when the 39th minute of the match was reached.

Now, the 21-year-old player could face a sanction of 4 to 12 matches for "insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, officials, or sports authorities in injurious terms or attitudes," according to Article 94 of the Disciplinary Code of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Jude Bellingham Received His Second Direct Red Card in LaLiga

So far this season, Bellingham had escaped expulsion on multiple occasions. In the last matchday, during the Madrid derby, Jude clearly kicked Marcos Llorente while trying to clear a ball just two minutes into the match. Both referee César Soto Grado and VAR overlooked the infraction. This Saturday, however, the referees did penalize a harsh tackle by Pablo Barrios in the Atlético-Celta match. Martínez Munuera had shown a yellow card to the midfielder but corrected it with a red after VAR's call in the 7th minute.

In the case of the Stourbridge player, he had previously been booked against Espanyol, Athletic Club, and Valladolid. In the 2023/25 season, he received 5 yellow cards in 28 matches. Against Sevilla, just before his first Clásico against FC Barcelona (where he scored a brace to give the whites a 1-2 victory in Montjuïc), the midfielder should have been sent off for a harsh tackle on Ivan Rakitic, which De Burgos Bengoetxea ignored.

For Jude, this was his second expulsion in LaLiga. The first was against Valencia at Mestalla (2-2), last season, for complaining to Gil Manzano about a disallowed goal in the 90+10', in the last action of the match. The phrase "It's a fucking goal, the ball is in the air" ("es un maldito gol, el balón estaba en el aire") cost him a direct red card and a two-match ban. After his expulsion at El Sadar, he is likely to receive a much harsher punishment. It was about time, as the '5' has gotten used to hitting freely and complaining at will in LaLiga.