Jude Bellingham could have avoided red card for telling ref to ‘f*** off’ if he’d taken Cristiano Ronaldo’s advice
JUDE BELLINGHAM could have avoided his red card against Osasuna if he’d heeded the words of previous Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
England ace Bellingham was sent off yesterday as his side were held to a 1-1 draw against Osasuna.
The midfielder was left gobsmacked when he was given his marching orders for what he later claimed was a “miscommunication.”
Referee Jose Munuera wrote in his report that Bellingham said “f**k you” after a decision went the other way.
Bellingham now faces a 12-match ban, which would see him miss the majority of the season’s remaining games.
But he could have avoided the sending off had he listened to advice from Portugal icon Ronaldo.
The 40-year-old spent nine years playing for Real, scoring 450 goals in 438 games while winning two titles and four Champions Leagues.
And back in 2018, the same year he left Real for Italian side Juventus, Ronaldo explained how swearing towards a referee in England was an acceptable practice — but not in Spain.
Ronaldo said: “I played in England for many years. For example. when there is a foul, the English say a lot of ‘f**’ off’ and the refs don’t say anything.
“But if you say it here, they send you out.”
Speaking after Real’s draw with Osasuna, Bellingham insisted there was a “miscommunication” with the referee and that he meant no offence.
Bellingham said: “It’s clear that it was a mistake and there is a miscommunication. 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.”
He continued: “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.”