Referee in Jude Bellingham row reveals death threats

The ongoing row over Jude Bellingham’s La Liga red card has rumbled on this weekend.

The England international was dismissed for the second time in his Real Madrid career in their 1-1 La Liga draw at Osasuna.

Bellingham was sent off just before half time after a flashpoint with match referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero following an Osasuna free kick.

The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder claimed the issue which saw him ordered off came down to a language barrier.

Carlo Ancelotti backed his No.5 over the issue claiming it was a misunderstanding and that Montero made an error in his call.

The issue was exacerbated by differing interpretations of what Bellingham said with Real Madrid indicating his four word expletive can be understood as ‘don’t f**k with me’ in Spanish, which does not appear to be his intention in English.

Bellingham has looked to draw a line under the issue by stating he will not comment on the matter any further.

Real Madrid are expected to appeal his sending off, and according to precedent, they have a relatively good chance of winning their race – based on a similar case involving former Getafe loanee Mason Greenwood.

Bellingham will learn his fate in the coming days with the potential for at least a one-game ban.

However, alongside the focus on Bellingham, the wave of criticism to Montero has reached boiling point with the official making a bold move.

As per reports from Mundo Deportivo, the experienced official was forced to disable comments on his Instagram account after receiving almost 100,000 mentions on his latest post including insults and threats against him and his family.

Amongst those remarks, there have been threats to kill or injure Montero, with La Liga expected to call for an investigation to improve the safety of their referees this week.