Real Madrid have lost their appeal against the two-match suspension given to Jude Bellingham for swearing at a referee.
The England midfielder was shown a straight red card during the first half of his side’s 1-1 La Liga draw with Osasuna on 15 February.
Referee Jose Munuera Montero stated in his match report Bellingham had said “f*** you” to him. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) issued a two-match ban because the 21-year-old displayed “contemptuous or inconsiderate attitudes towards referees, officials or sports authorities”.
After the match Bellingham said he had not insulted the referee but made “an expression to myself”.
Real told the RFEF’s appeals committee Bellingham had said “f** off” rather than “f** you”.
The appeals committee, external said the club had tried to “demonstrate the absence of the insulting or offensive nature” of “f*** off”, but said this was “not relevant” given it had not been unable to confirm Bellingham said this.
He will now miss his side’s league match against Girona on Sunday and the trip to Seville to face Real Betis on 2 March.
Bellingham will also be ruled out of the first leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid after collecting a third booking of the European campaign in the defeat of Manchester City on Wednesday.
This week, the RFEF condemned the “repulsive” abuse suffered by Montero after the incident, with the referee and his family receiving abuse on social media.
Earlier this month, Real sent a formal letter of complaint to the Spanish FA and Spain’s High Council for Sports in which they claimed match officials are biased against them, “rigged”, and “completely discredited”.
The letter was sent after Carlo Ancelotti’s men suffered a 1-0 defeat to Espanyol, with Real arguing Espanyol defender Carlos Romero should have been sent off before he scored a late winner.
On Friday, the RFEF launched a campaign calling for respect for officials, external. The slogan “Respect the referee, respect football” will be displayed during Spain’s Uefa Women’s Nations League match against Belgium on Friday, as well as all La Liga and second division men’s fixtures over the weekend.
During a press conference on Friday, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick brought up Real Madrid’s criticism of referees unprompted.
“The referees at the moment, what they [Real Madrid] are doing here in Spain with them is unbelievable,” said the German.
“You have to think about the families of the referees, all of us make mistakes, and if it happened in a match I think it’s the responsibility of the coaches and the players to protect them.
“We have to protect the match because we cannot play without referees, so this is what we have to do.”
