Madrid loses appeal as Bellingham faces red card suspension

Nothing could have gone better for Jude Bellingham’s first season in LaLiga. He has been the most impressive member of the LaLiga leaders. They are presently six points ahead of second placed-Girona and are heavy favorites to win the Champions League.

Bellingham scored twice in the 4-0 hammering of their title rivals on Feb. 10, bringing his league goal tally to 16 and his goal total for all competitions to 20. Now, though, he will have to take a break for a while.

LaLiga has dismissed Real Madrid’s appeal against the red card in Saturday’s contentious draw with Valencia. Thus, it means they will be without him until near the end of March.

The fourth official showed seven minutes of extra time on the board. Following that, VAR reversed a previous penalty decision for Madrid, causing a two-minute delay. Nerves were flying for the away team on this emotional evening, as winger Vinicius had scored twice in the same stadium where he had endured racist chants the year before.

As time ran down in the 99th minute, the Englishman took the golden opportunity to give his side a 3-2 win. He and Madrid rode away in joy, believing this was the winning goal—another memorable moment from his outstanding rookie season.

To his and his colleagues’ disbelief, referee Jesus Gil Manzano had sounded the full-time whistle just a moment earlier. The Spanish official was dead set on his decision: no goal.

LaLiga rules defend referees from player criticism

Bellingham stormed up to Gil Manzano, clearly enraged, and the latter ordered him packing. After the game, the Spanish giants voiced their displeasure. They claimed that Manzano should not have blown his whistle when their team was in the ascendancy.

In his post-match report, Manzano noted that an incident that happened after the match ended resulted in Bellingham’s red card in the 99th minute. “While still on the field, he approached me [Manzano] in a forceful manner, angrily shouting and repeatedly emphasizing that ‘It’s a ****ing goal’.“

As per LaLiga regulations, a player might face a suspension of two or three matches for an in-game disagreement with a match referee’s decision.

As mentioned in RFEF Disciplinary Code article 127, “Protesting the main referee, assistants or fourth referee, as long as it does not constitute a more serious offense, will be punished with a suspension of two to three games or for a period of up to one month.”

How many games will Jude Bellingham miss with red card suspension?

Despite that, Real Madrid decided to appeal the verdict because they thought it was unjust. The Competition Committee, nevertheless, thinks that the suspension should remain in place, according to Diario AS. With the RFEF deciding to suspend Bellingham for two games, Bellingham will miss league matches against Celta Vigo and Osasuna.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.