Real Madrid has lost their appeal against the two-match ban given to Jude Bellingham after he received a red card for dissent last weekend, Afrosport reports.
Bellingham was sent off during the first half of Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna in La Liga last Saturday for words directed at the match official.
The 21-year-old on Wednesday was suspended for two league games by the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) disciplinary committee for “contemptuous or inconsiderate attitudes towards referees, officials, or sports authorities.”
The 41-year-old referee, in his match report, stated that Bellingham had said “F*** you” to him as opposed to the “f*** off” the Englishman and Real Madrid claimed he had uttered.
Los Blancos, however, appealed against the ban, claiming a ‘manifest error’ in the referee’s report changed the meaning of the expression.
According to the appeals committee, the Spanish champions had tried to “demonstrate the absence of the insulting or offensive nature” of “f*** off,” but said this was “not relevant” given the difficulty to confirm if Bellingham used the phrase.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder will now miss Madrid’s match against Girona on Sunday and the trip to Real Betis on 2 March.
Real Madrid will also be without Bellingham in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 encounter against Atletico Madrid due to an accumulation of yellow cards. The midfielder was shown a yellow card in their 3-1 win against Manchester City on Wednesday.
