RFEF decries online ref abuse after Bellingham red

Spain’s football federation (RFEF) said referees are sickened by the abuse Jose Munuera Montero has received since he showed Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham a red card and the situation reflects the “hatred and verbal violence” match officials have to endure.

Montero believed the 21-year-old England midfielder had directed foul language at him during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna and showed him a straight red card. However, Bellingham and his coach Carlo Ancelotti said the official was mistaken.

“The professional referees are absolutely repulsed by the attacks and threats that our colleague Jose Luis Munuera Montero is receiving through social networks, which not only target him personally but also his family,” the RFEF said in a statement late on Monday.

“These attacks add to the hatred and verbal violence through which we have to carry out our professional work every weekend, and that in the base categories becomes, even more regrettably, physical violence in many cases.”

Bellingham could face a lengthy ban under guidelines for the use of “offensive terms or attitudes” towards match officials but the player said the referee had misunderstood him.

“I’m an English player … and when I speak on the pitch it’s normal that I use expressions that come naturally to me in English,” he told reporters on Saturday.

“There was no insult, you can see in the video right away, it was an expression to myself, I’m not even directing myself towards the referee. But obviously there was a misunderstanding. He’s believed I’ve said it to him.”