Jude Bellingham was caught accusing the referee of favouring Barcelona during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final on Saturday night.
Jules Kounde’s goal in extra time sealed a 3-2 victory for Barcelona at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, while tensions boiled over shortly before the full-time whistle with Antonio Rudiger now facing a severe punishment for throwing an ice cube at referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.
Madrid’s treatment towards referees in Spain was the focal point in the build up to the Copa del Rey final after De Burgos Bengoetxea broke down in tears during the officials’ pre-match press conference on Friday.
And Madrid will be under scrutiny once again following their conduct towards the officials during Saturday night’s final against Barcelona.
As the players headed down the tunnel for the half-time break, Bellingham was caught by television cameras tearing into De Burgos Bengoetxea and his team.
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‘Make him understand, everything is going their [Barcelona’s] way, everything 50-50 goes their way,’ Bellingham was heard telling the referee while he was being led away by Madrid captain Lucas Vazquez.
In his official post-match report to the Spanish Football Federation, De Burgos Bengoetxea confirmed Rudiger had thrown ‘an object which missed me’, while Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle for an ‘aggressive attitude’ towards the officials.
The report read: ‘In the 120th minute, player (22) Rüdiger, Antonio, was sent off for the following reason: For throwing an object from the technical area, which missed me. After being shown the red card, he had to be restrained by several members of the coaching staff, displaying an aggressive attitude.
‘In the 120th minute, player (17) Vazquez Iglesias, Lucas, was sent off for the following reason: For protesting one of our decisions, entering the field of play for several meters, making gestures of disagreement.
‘In the 999th minute, player (5) Bellingham, Jude Victor William, was sent off for the following reason: After the end of the match, he approached our position in an aggressive attitude, having to be restrained by his teammates.’
Rudiger now faces severe repercussions for his conduct after he was restrained from hurling further abuse at the referee by six people on the sideline, including two Madrid players Ferland Mendy and Jesus Vallejo.
The former Chelsea defender then attempted to confront the referee after the full-time whistle but was once again stopped by Luis Llopis, Madrid’s goalkeeping coach, and goalkeeper Andrii Lunin.
Metro
In de recente Copa del Rey finale tussen Real Madrid en Barcelona, heeft Real Madrid-coach Zinedine Zidane de scheidsrechter, Jesús Gil Manzano, beschuldigd van partijdigheid ten gunste van Barcelona. De wedstrijd eindigde in een 4-0 overwinning voor Barcelona, wat leidde tot frustratie en woede bij de Real Madrid-spelers en staf.
Zidane beweerde dat de scheidsrechter verschillende discutabele beslissingen nam die in het voordeel van Barcelona vielen. Hij wees met name op een penalty die werd toegekend aan Barcelona na een vermeende overtreding van Real Madrid-verdediger Raphael Varane. Zidane gelooft dat de scheidsrechter de beslissingen bewust nam om Barcelona te bevoordelen en Real Madrid te benadelen.
De beschuldigingen van partijdigheid hebben geleid tot controverse en discussie in de voetbalwereld. Sommigen steunen Zidane en zijn team in hun standpunt, terwijl anderen geloven dat de scheidsrechter gewoon zijn werk deed en objectief handelde tijdens de wedstrijd.
Het is niet ongebruikelijk dat scheidsrechters onder vuur liggen na belangrijke wedstrijden, vooral als er veel op het spel staat. In dit geval was de Copa del Rey finale een belangrijke wedstrijd tussen twee aartsrivalen, wat de druk op de scheidsrechter nog groter maakte.
Het is nu aan de Spaanse voetbalbond om de beschuldigingen van Zidane te onderzoeken en eventueel actie te ondernemen als blijkt dat er sprake was van partijdigheid. Tot die tijd zullen de discussies en debatten over de controverse rondom de Copa del Rey finale blijven voortduren.
