Watch – Barcelona president’s humorous reply when asked about Bellingham red card

Jude Bellingham’s red card against Osasuna at the weekend had become a major talking point with Real Madrid making it a point to maintain a feud with referees.

While being hard done by the match officials is not new in Barcelona, the Merengues appear to be newly falling prey to non-standardised refereeing decisions and are thus creating a ruckus out of the situation.

Their argument, quite simply, is that the Real Madrid star did not say ‘F*** you’ which the referee claims but ‘F*** off’ – which they deem is more acceptable in the heat of a game.

Laporta’s jovial response

Bellingham has been caught using distasteful language on the field several times this season, and the reason he has not been sanctioned is likely because of his reactions coming in English which many officials are not familiar with.

Earlier today, Barcelona president Joan Laporta was asked to give his two cents on the Jude Bellingham issue and he opted to slyly take a dig at the opposition star.

“Pleased to meet you,” he told the journalist in English, just as Bellingham spoke in English on the field.

▪ "Los árbitros son los jueces y a la autoridad hay que tenerle respeto".

Martín Presa se moja sobre el 'fuck off' de Bellingham y Laporta tira de inglés para responder.

😆 "Pleased to meet you". pic.twitter.com/WUyTxKtBIy

— ElDesmarque (@eldesmarque) February 17, 2025

While the alarm bells in Real Madrid are ringing, the news of a player being suspended for poor language is not new in Barcelona for the Catalans have already fallen prey to the same on numerous occasions.

The instances that particularly stand out include Ousmane Dembele’s red card for calling the referee ‘very bad’ and Robert Lewandowski’s three-game suspension for a mere gesture of placing his finger on his nose.

With the men in white dropping two points against Osasuna after Bellingham’s sending-off, Barcelona have a chance to go back on top tonight if they beat Rayo Vallecano. 

The dressing room will thus look to stay away from the noise and focus on the job at hand.