Bellingham says Camavinga red 'a joke' as Real fury grows
Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham says the decision to send off team-mate Eduardo Camavinga during their 4-3 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich was "a joke". Substitute Camavinga, who was only on the pitch for 24 minutes, was shown a second yellow card in the 86th minute for kicking the ball away and delaying a Bayern free-kick following a foul on Harry Kane. As Bellingham walked past reporters on his way to the team bus in Munich, he was asked about the late dismissal that proved pivotal to the result of the quarter-final second leg.
"A joke," he said in Spanish, shaking his head as he continued on. "Impossible that it is a red. " With Wednesday's tie level on aggregate at 4-4 the time, the decision left Real to see out the closing stages with 10 men, as Bayern scored two late goals to win 6-4 on aggregate and progress to the semi-finals.
Bayern score late to win seven-goal thriller over Real Madrid England midfielder Bellingham was not alone in his frustration. Several Real players reacted strongly both during and after the match. Defender Antonio Rudiger hinted his disapproval but stopped short of direct criticism.
"It's best I don't talk about the referee. Did you see the red card? " he told the media.
Club captain Dani Carvajal, who did not feature in the match, confronted referee Slavko Vincic from the touchline following the incident. Television footage showed him shouting angrily and pointing towards the official after Camavinga's dismissal. Arda Guler, who scored Real's first two goals, was given a red card in the aftermath of the defeat after storming over to the referee.