Jude Bellingham was brandished a bizarre red card in Real Madrid’s LaLiga clash with Osasuna on Saturday as controversial refereeing took centre stage once again.
Los Blancos took a deserved lead in the contest thanks to Kylian Mbappe, who latched onto a low cross and fired home expertly from inside the box on the quarter-hour mark.
Real Madrid then went about extending their lead but were thwarted by the referee, who waved away three near-blatant penalties.
Frustrated by the officiating, Bellingham appeared to voice his dissatisfaction to the referee directly as Real Madrid prepared to take a goal kick in the 39th minute – only for the ref to show the Englishman a straight red for dissent.
This sparked outrage from Real Madrid fans across social media, with one writing: ‘Real Madrid should just walk off the pitch at this point.’
With Carlo Ancelotti’s side now a man down, focus turned to preserving their lead without one of their leading lights.
Jude Bellingham appeared incensed as he was harshly sent off against Osasuna for dissent
Real Madrid went on to throw away their one-goal advantage after going down to ten men
And while they made it to the break without conceding, the referee would once again be at the heart of Real Madrid’s woes in the second half.
On 58 minutes, the ref finally pointed to the spot at El Sadar – but it was in favour of the hosts, awarded a spot-kick after a late challenge for Eduardo Camavinga.
Osasuna frontman Ante Budumir tucked home from the spot to make it 1-1 – a scoreline the hosts would preserve for the remainder of the game, denying league leaders Real Madrid a crucial three points on the road.
The result provides Atletico Madrid and Barcelona with a gilt-edged opportunity to leapfrog the Galacticos in the table, with Atletico facing off against Celta Vigo on Saturday evening before the Blaugrana host Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
