Jude Bellingham accuses referee of favouring Barcelona in Real Madrid defeat (2025)

Jude Bellingham was caught accusing the referee of favouring Barcelona during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final on Saturday night.

Jules Kounde’s goal in extra time sealed a 3-2 victory for Barcelonaat the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, while tensions boiled over shortly before the full-time whistle with Antonio Rudiger now facing a severe punishment for throwing an ice cube at referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.

Madrid’s treatment towards referees in Spain was the focal point in the build up to the Copa del Rey final after De Burgos Bengoetxea broke down in tears during the officials’ pre-match press conference on Friday.

And Madrid will be under scrutiny once again following their conduct towards the officials during Saturday night’s final against Barcelona.

As the players headed down the tunnel for the half-time break, Bellingham was caught by television cameras tearing into De Burgos Bengoetxea and his team.

‘Make him understand, everything is going their [Barcelona’s] way, everything 50-50 goes their way,’ Bellingham was heard telling the referee while he was being led away by Madrid captain Lucas Vazquez.

In his official post-match report to the Spanish Football Federation, De Burgos Bengoetxea confirmed Rudiger had thrown ‘an object which missed me’, while Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle for an ‘aggressive attitude’ towards the officials.

The report read: ‘In the 120th minute, player (22) Rüdiger, Antonio, was sent off for the following reason: For throwing an object from the technical area, which missed me. After being shown the red card, he had to be restrained by several members of the coaching staff, displaying an aggressive attitude.

‘In the 120th minute, player (17) Vazquez Iglesias, Lucas, was sent off for the following reason: For protesting one of our decisions, entering the field of play for several meters, making gestures of disagreement.

‘In the 999th minute, player (5) Bellingham, Jude Victor William, was sent off for the following reason: After the end of the match, he approached our position in an aggressive attitude, having to be restrained by his teammates.’

Rudiger now faces severe repercussions for his conduct after he was restrained from hurling further abuse at the referee by six people on the sideline, including two Madrid players Ferland Mendy and Jesus Vallejo.

The former Chelsea defender then attempted to confront the referee after the full-time whistle but was once again stopped by Luis Llopis, Madrid’s goalkeeping coach, and goalkeeper Andrii Lunin.

‘I’m deeply saddened by Vinicius and Rudiger’s reaction. Rudiger’s attitude, especially, was deplorable,’ Dani Garrido, the host of Carrusel Deportivo, said after the game.

‘Lucas may have insulted, Vinicius came off like a madman, but what Rudiger did is unforgivable, and he’s going to get a historic ban.’

Pedri gave Barcelona the lead in the first half before Kylian Mbappe, who started on the bench due to an ankle injury, pulled Madrid level in the 70th minute.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side then took the lead through Aurelien Tchouameni but Ferran Torres equalised for Barcelona in the 84th minute to take the tie to extra time.

Barcelona were aggrieved in the first half as they felt they were denied two clear penalties – the first was Federico Valverde’s handball went unpunished after he slipped inside Madrid’s area, while the second was Dani Ceballos’ clear shirt pull on Pau Cubarsi from a corner.

VAR also stepped in to deny Barcelona another penalty claim in the second half after Raul Asencio brought down Raphinha inside Madrid’s box.

Kounde’s superb strike from the edge of the area sealed Barcelona’s win in extra time and Hansi Flick’s side remain in with a chance of winning the treble this season as they are four points clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga, while they will play Inter in the first leg of their Champions League semi final next Wednesday.

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