Spain federation says refs sickened by abuse after Bellingham red card

Spain's football federation said referees are sickened by the abuse Jose Munuera Montero has received since he showed Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham a red card and the situation reflects the “hatred and verbal violence” match officials have to endure.

Montero believed the 21-year-old England midfielder directed foul language at him during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Osasuna and showed him a straight red card. However, Bellingham and his coach Carlo Ancelotti said the official was mistaken.

“The professional referees are absolutely repulsed by the attacks and threats that our colleague Jose Luis Munuera Montero is receiving through social networks, which not only target him personally but also his family,” the RFEF said in a statement late on Monday.

“These attacks add to the hatred and verbal violence through which we have to carry out our professional work every weekend, and that in the base categories becomes, even more regrettably, physical violence in many cases.”

Bellingham could face a lengthy ban under guidelines for the use of “offensive terms or attitudes” towards match officials but the player said the referee had misunderstood him.

“I'm an English player and when I speak on the pitch it's normal that I use expressions that come naturally to me in English,” he said on Saturday.

“There was no insult, you can see in the video right away, it was an expression to myself — I'm not even directing myself towards the referee. But obviously there was a misunderstanding. He's believed I've said it to him.”

“I've seen the video and it doesn't match the [referee's] report. I hope that the footage will be reviewed and see that it's not the same as the report.”

An unlikely debate about translation and cultural interpretations of English profanity has ignited in Spain after Bellingham was sent off.

Monday's mainstream TV shows, radio phone-ins and the front pages of newspapers and major websites wrestled with the concept of Bellingham's novel defence that he did not shout “f**k you” at the official, but merely “f**k off”.

Ancelotti, who managed in England with Chelsea and Everton, backed his player's defence.

“I think he [the referee] misunderstood Bellingham's English. The translation is not the same and I don't think it's offensive at all,” he said.

“The red card comes out of the referee's nervousness. Bellingham has done nothing to be sent off. Absolutely nothing.”

In the Premier League, players routinely use strong language when decisions go against them and punishments are uncommon.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick took a different view when asked about the incident.

“It is a lack of respect in any situation,” said the German.

The forward could be facing a four to 12-game ban for “insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, directors, or sports authorities in offensive terms or attitudes”.

Bellingham added: “What you have to understand is that there is a lot of emotion on the pitch and these details can cost you games.

“That emotion may not give the best of you, but I don't think that's the case, I've been calm and you can see it with lip reading, it's not what it says on the record.

“I'm calm, because I know I've only said an expression to myself that I've said since I was 16 or 17 years old.”

While many observers will be bemused by Bellingham's defence, the player can point to a recent case that could work in his favour.

Last season, Getafe successfully overturned English striker Mason Greenwood's sending-off in a match against Rayo Vallecano for an almost identical misunderstanding. 

Reuters