Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham branded the late sending-off of team-mate Eduardo Camavinga “a joke” after their 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich ended their UEFA Champions League campaign.
Camavinga, introduced from the bench, was shown a second yellow card in the 86th minute for kicking the ball away after a foul on Harry Kane. With the tie level 4-4 on aggregate at the time, Real were forced to finish the match with 10 men. NOP NIGERIA reports that Bayern scored twice late on to seal a 6-4 aggregate win and book a semi-final place.
As Bellingham walked past reporters towards the team bus in Munich, he was asked about the decision. “A joke,” he said in Spanish, shaking his head as he continued. “Impossible that it is red.”
Frustration ran deep among the Madrid squad. Defender Antonio Rudiger hinted at his anger but stopped short of criticising the officials directly. “It’s best I don’t talk about the referee. Did you see the red card?” he told the media.
Club captain Dani Carvajal confronted referee Slavko Vincic from the touchline. Television footage showed him pointing towards the official and shouting: “It’s your fault.”
Teenager Arda Guler, who scored twice in the match, was sent off after the final whistle for protesting. He later wrote on Instagram: “This isn’t how it should’ve been. We’re very sorry. We will be back. Hala Madrid.” He will miss the opening game of next season’s league phase.
Manager Alvaro Arbeloa insisted the dismissal decided the tie. He said, “You can’t send a player off for something like that. Nobody understands how a player can be sent off for that.
“I think the referee took out the card because he did not know Camavinga was booked already, because it was up to Bayern’s players to go and tell him it was the second card.
“It’s a double mistake besides not knowing he already had a yellow. It ruined a match that was going really well, very evenly matched. It was at its peak. That was the end of the game.”
