Carlo Ancelotti opened his voice regarding Jude Bellingham’s red card when Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia in Week 27 of the 2023/2024 Spanish League. The coach was speechless when he saw his team fail to win because of a controversial decision made by the referee.
In the match which took place at the Estadio Mestalla, Sunday (3/3/2024), Los Blancos – Madrid’s nickname – were two goals behind after Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) brought the home team ahead in half an hour. However, Vinicius Junior was able to equalize the score at 2-2 with goals in the 45+5 and 76 minutes.
After that, Madrid actually succeeded in scoring the winning goal right in the last second of the second half through Bellingham’s header. However, the goal was not considered valid.
The reason is, referee Gil Manzano blew the long whistle right when Brahim Diaz sent him a cross. As a result, Bellingham was very angry and was seen cursing the referee after the controversial incident occurred until he was finally rewarded with a red card.
Ancelotti also revealed that the English star was only trying to convince the referee that his goal should still be awarded. However, a harsh word came out of his mouth so the referee punished him with a red card.
“Bellingham told him ‘Damn, it was a goal’, he didn’t insult him. “We will see what the referee wrote in his actions,” said Ancelotti as quoted by Football Espana, Sunday (3/3/2024).
In a further report written by Football Espana, it has reportedly been confirmed that these were the words that came out of Bellingham’s mouth to referee Gil Manzano before getting the red card. It is said that Real Madrid will appeal the punishment given to the 20 year old midfielder.
Ancelotti was furious with the referee’s decision to blow the long whistle before Bellingham’s goal occurred. However, he resigned himself to that and tried to keep his angry players calm.
“What to say, there is not much to say. Something unprecedented has happened. “The players are angry, but we all have to be calm,” concluded the Italian coach.
The draw left Rodrigo Goes and colleagues seven points ahead of Girona who were right behind them. However, their rivals can cut the gap to four points if they are able to win the match against Mallorca on Monday (4/3/2024).
