Former Real Madrid star defends Jude Bellingham and claims that ‘f*** off’ is like ‘thank you’ in England – as the row of the midfielder’s controversial red card rages on

Former Real Madrid and Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart has leapt to the defence of Jude Bellingham after his controversial sending off last weekend. 

Bellingham was dismissed by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero 39 minutes into Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna for foul and abusive language. But the England star adamant that he had not been abusive towards the referee, who accused the midfielder of telling him: ‘F*** you’.

Bellingham’s account was that he had said: ‘f*** off’, but that these words were aimed at himself in frustration, rather than at the match official.

The 21-year-old has found an ally in Van der Vaart, who believes there is a level of hierocracy about swearing, curiously focusing his eye on England and not in Spain, where fierce debate over the incident rages on. 

He said on the Dutch TV show Rondo: ‘What really annoys me in England is: Everyone talks with ‘f*** this’, ‘f*** that’, but if I say that on television, I get canceled.

‘I’m not saying that I’ve been canceled, I can still go there, but it’s just so hypocritical. Everyone talks like that. It’s not polite, but it’s almost like ‘thank you’. Seriously, especially in England. 

Jude Bellingham was handed a straight red card for foul or abusive language on Saturday

Former Real Madrid and Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart does not believe the midfielder should have been sent off

‘I think ‘f*** off’ can be said in an emotional moment. It’s normal language on a field, even in his own country. I do think there’s quite a difference between saying ‘f*** off’ and ‘f*** you.’

Real Madrid are believed to have met with LaLiga’s refereeing council (CTA) and accused officials of ‘bias’ in the midst of Bellingham’s red card row. The Los Blancos superstar could yet face a ban of up to 12 matches for the incident, which has seen Bellingham passionately defended by his head coach Carlo Ancelotti – and dubbed ‘disrespectful’ by the manager of Real Madrid’s loathed rivals Barcelona, Hansi Flick.

Real Madrid are thought to be so incensed by the decision against their player that reports on Monday suggested that the LaLiga giants are mulling a move away from the Spanish top flight.

But officials from both parties met that day, as per Marca, to discuss the involvement of another of their players – France captain Kylian Mbappe – in a tussle with Espanyol’s Carlos Romero when the two teams met at the start of the month.

In addition to Van der Vaart, fellow former Netherlands internationals Macro van Basten and Mark van Bommel believe the former Birmingham City wonderkid should not have been dismissed for his outburst. 

‘I think the red card is exaggerated and really stupid,’ said Van Basten. ‘To get a red card, you should do much more crazy stuff. A yellow card is enough.’

Bellingham, for his part, is thought to be optimistic about avoiding a potential lengthy ban, as he shared his thoughts on the incident on social media.

‘Enough said about the misunderstanding,’ Bellingham wrote in a message to supporters. ‘Just wanted to apologise again for leaving my teammates in such a tough position and thank the fans for their support and understanding.

Carlo Ancelotti has staunchly defended his player amid speculation that the club could switch leagues in the wake of refereeing decisions going against them

Bellingham apologised to his team-mates after they dropped points against Osasuna

‘See you on Wednesday at home.’

The player may find consolation in a decision meted out to his compatriot Mason Greenwood last season, which saw a red card handed to the former Manchester United academy star during his stint at Getafe overturned on appeal.

Greenwood was sent off by Jorge Figueroa Vasquez in a fiery 2-0 defeat by Rayo Vallecano in January 2024, with the match official claiming the Marseille forward shouted ‘f*** you’ at him.

However, Getafe chose to appeal the decision at the time after believing he had not been venting his frustrations at the referee, but instead at himself by saying ‘f*** sake!’.

The Spanish FA then overturned the decision after finding that Greenwood had in fact sworn over the amount of times he had been fouled, rather than aiming a deliberate X-rated remark directly at Vasquez.