Real Madrid fell to a frustrating defeat against Valencia on Saturday afternoon, their tenth of the season, after Hugo Duro continued his scoring run at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 95th minute to win it 2-1. If Los Blancos were frustrated before, that goal saw the tension spill over for some.
Not least Jude Bellingham, who has shown himself to be one of Real Madrid’s more emotional characters this season. Dissent has been a problem for the England international this season, receiving a red card earlier this year for that reason, his second in successive years at the club. This season he also has eight yellow cards, and has missed four games through suspension, including their Champions League Round of 16 first leg with Atletico Madrid.
We may add Jude Bellingham to the list of players who have tried to kick the proverbial out of VAR. #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/BXEdu1ojVK
— Football España (@footballespana_) April 7, 2025
As he walked off on Saturday night, Bellingham could be seen booting the VAR camera in a fit of rage as he came off the pitch, although it was seemingly in tact after the incident.
via @MMajeedX pic.twitter.com/othwkQJL4Q
— مجيد يغطي مدريد @MMajeedx (@mmtv30087) April 6, 2025
Although players in Spain can be sanctioned for such behaviour, if it is not included in the referee’s match report, Bellingham seems unlikely to face further disciplinary action. That at least was the case for Iago Aspas last year, after the Celta Vigo captain shoved over the VAR screen.
The VAR intervened in the Valencia game twice, the first asking the referee to take a second look at a penalty given in favour of Kylian Mbappe, which remained a spot-kick after consultation. The second time was to disallow a Mouctar Diakhaby own goal, after it was adjudged that Mbappe was both offside and interfering with play in the build-up.
In contrast to other defeats this season though, the referee was not the main focus for Los Blancos in the local media afterwards, with questions instead being asked of the team and their performance. No shortage of fingers are also pointed at the under pressure Carlo Ancelotti too.
