After falling down 2-0, Real Madrid rallied to draw level with Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday.
But they believed they had clinched it in the dying minutes when Jude Bellingham headed the ball beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The Real Madrid players went absolutely ballistic when they realized that Bellingham’s goal wouldn’t count. In fact, just before Brahim Diaz had crossed the ball in, referee Jesus Gil Manzano sounded the whistle.
Bellingham was one among many members of Carlo Ancelotti’s team to approach Gil Manzano. Nevertheless, his response was so extreme that the referee sent him off. Thus, he would miss at least the next match against Celta Vigo.
Los Blancos and the Englishman will have to deal with the disappointment of this unfortunate situation.
If the referee had waited just a few seconds longer to blow the whistle, they would have triumphed against Valencia. The downside is that they have lost points for the second time in the past three weeks.
Following Jesus Gil Manzano’s decision to reject the late winner, Carlo Ancelotti demanded an explanation from the Spanish referee. Also, he has spilled the beans on the English midfielder’s dismissal just after full-time.
According to the Italian experienced manager, Bellingham just stated, “It’s a fu**** goal,” and had no intention of insulting the referee. “Something unprecedented has happened and it’s never happened to me before. We were annoyed by Bellingham’s red card because he didn’t say anything insulting. It was frustration.
“The player was clear in what he said. It’s true that he argued vehemently after the goal and that’s normal. It was not an insult at all. Let’s see what the referee writes in the official report.
“Had the referee blown the whistle when the Valencia keeper cleared the ball, it would have been right but he allowed play to continue and we had possession. I think he has made a mistake.
“We are upset and angry. It’s normal but we have to get back to normal because we have an important game on Wednesday. We have to cool down a bit because the team is still seething. To cool down you have to look at the table. We can still sleep well tonight”, he said.
The English midfielder will definitely not play in next weekend’s match against Celta Vigo. Nonetheless, he may face a lengthy suspension from participating in future matches.
Regardless, according to Arancha Rodriguez, Los Blancos plan to challenge the red card handed to the 20-year-old. The Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation will review the case next week.
The 20-year-old might miss two or three games if his appeal is denied; Gil Manzano reportedly reprimanded the player for approaching him in an “aggressive manner”, per Marca.
As part of his report, Manzano noted: “After the conclusion of the game, still on the field of play, [Bellingham] approached me with an aggressive attitude, repeatedly shouting, ‘It’s a f****** goal’.”
Wednesday or Thursday is when Real Madrid will most likely hear about the final decision. With points lost in the La Liga championship fight, they will be quite keen to have Bellingham available whenever possible.
Photo credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto
