REAL Madrid midfielder, Jude Bellingham is facing a 12-month match suspension after making an X-rated rant to the referee during the game against Osasuna on Saturday.
The referee in charge of the game, Jose Luis Munuera Montero, gave the player a red card in the 39th minute for using foul and abusive language.
Montero had accused Bellingham of telling him: “F*** you”. While Bellingham claims that he had said: “f*** off” and that the words were aimed at himself in frustration, rather than at the referee.
The Spanish FA’s disciplinary Code stipulates that any player guilty of “insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, directors, or sports authorities in offensive terms or attitudes” will be punished with a suspension of four to 12 matches.
If that ban is enforced, Bellingham could muss 4-12 games, which would include Madrid’s La Liga fixtures against Girona, Betis, and Rayo Vallecano, as well as the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.