Cristiano's Surprising Prediction to Bellingham: What Did He Say About Insults in English?

Cristiano Ronaldo went viral on Saturday for an incredible prediction regarding what ultimately became the major controversy of matchday 24 of LaLiga. The Portuguese forward explained the meaning of the phrase that eventually led José Luis Munuera Montero to expel Jude Bellingham in the first half of the Osasuna-Real Madrid match (1-1). Despite the excuses from Madrid's '5', the current player of Al Nassr agreed with the Andalusian referee.

"In England, I played many years... For example, when there is a foul, the English often say 'fuck off' and the referees do nothing; if you say it here, you get sent off", commented 'CR7' in an interview with Josep Pedrerol for 'El Chiringuito' in 2018, during his last season with the 'merengues'. Well, the phrase mentioned by Cristiano was precisely the one that ended up costing Bellingham his expulsion on Saturday and, probably, a minimum of four match bans in LaLiga.

Flick Makes It Clear: Bellingham Insulted Munuera Montero

Just like Ronaldo, Hansi Flick, who masters English perfectly, made it clear that, beyond the excuses from the Real Madrid midfielder, either of the two phrases, 'fuck off' or 'fuck you', is a disrespect and, therefore, deserves punishment according to the regulations. "I think it is a lack of respect, for me it is like that. I should not decide and it does not concern me. It is not a situation that affects me, but I tell my players not to waste time or energy saying such things", explained the FC Barcelona coach.

In that sense, the coach went further with what he considers should be a key recommendation for footballers in general: only the captain should speak to the referee, just as it happens in sports like handball.  "I do not like this type of behavior and I told my players today. It is not good for the team. A red card weakens us and we do not want this", he pointed out.

Jude Bellingham Apologizes to His Teammates and Prepares for a Harsh Sanction

On Sunday, with Munuera Montero's report already in the hands of the Competition Committee and while awaiting his sanction (which could range from 4 to 12 matches), Jude apologized again to the team and the Madrid fans with a message posted on his Instagram account. "Everything has been said about the misunderstanding, I just wanted to apologize again for putting my teammates in a difficult position and thank the fans for their support and understanding. See you on Wednesday at home", wrote the English international.