FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick criticized Real Madrid Jude Bellingham for the incident that led … [+]
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick criticized Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham for the incident that led to him being red carded during a 1-1 draw against Osasuna on Saturday.
At full time in El Sadar, Flick’s opposite number at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti, insisted that there had been an error in communication which led to the Englishman being dismissed approaching half time in the stalemate, after an exchange of words with the referee.
“We started well and finished well with one less. The red card with Jude, I don’t think he understood him well. He tells him to ‘f*ck off’, not ‘f*ck you’,” the Italian stated.
In his own post-match interview from the mixed zone, Bellingham also claimed innocence.
“It’s clear that a mistake has been made, there has been a communication error,” the Englishman stated.
“I don’t want to say what I said again, but it’s more like ‘joder’ (a Spanish phrased often said to mean ‘f*ck’), and I want everyone to know that I didn’t mean to put the team in a situation to leave them with ten men,” he then added.
Asked about the difference between the two phrases in English at his press conference to preview a vital La Liga tie with Rayo Vallecano on Monday, Flick remarked that whatever was said or meant is for him “a lack of respect”.
“That’s how it is, but I don’t have to decide. It’s not my business, it’s none of my business. Why waste time and energy to say certain things to the referees? We have a person on the pitch who has the right to speak to the referee, our captain. I don’t like this type of behavior, I have insisted again today. A red card weakens us,” Flick further explained.
Madrid’s latest slip up provides Barca with the chance to go to the top of the league table after previously trailing Los Blancos by 10 points heading into 2025.
Flick argued that while “many times we don’t look at the standings”, it’s “important” to do so though “there’s still a long way to go”.
“We want to show the performance we have had since the New Year. I trust the team, they have fun training and playing. Rayo is doing an extraordinary job and their coach is incredible. They already warned me when I arrived, they are doing very, very well,” Flick concluded on this.
