Jude Bellingham facing possible 12-MATCH ban after X-rated rant at referee

Jude Bellingham ccould could be looking at 12 matches out of action following his X-rated rant towards the referee which saw him receive a red card against Osasuna on Saturday.

England star Bellingham was sent off by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero 39 minutes into Madrid's 1-1 draw at Osasuna for foul and abusive language.

But Bellingham was adamant that he had not been abusive towards the referee, who accused the former Birmingham City wonderkid of telling him: 'F*** you'.

Bellingham's account was that he had said: 'f*** off', but that these words were aimed at himself in frustration, rather than at the match official.

Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti added after the match: 'I think the referee did not understand Jude Bellingham's English. He said 'f*** off', not 'f*** you'… that's way different.'

It remains to be seen whether Madrid will appeal in the hope of getting Bellingham's red overturned.

If not, the 21-year-old could be facing 12 games watching his team-mates.

The Spanish FA's disciplinary Code tells that any player guilty of 'insulting, offending, or addressing the main referee, assistants, fourth official, directors, or sports authorities in offensive terms or attitudes' will be punished with a suspension of four to 12 matches.

If that ban is enforced, Bellingham will miss Madrid's La Liga bouts with Girona, Betis, and Rayo Vallecano, as well as the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.

If it was to be extedned to the full 12 matches, Bellingham will then miss the majority of the remainder of the season.

Bellingham was clearly not expecting a long time on the sidelines as he wrote: 'enough said about the misunderstanding.

'Just wanted to apologise again for leaving my teammates in such a tough position and thank the fans for their support and understanding.

'See you on Wednesday at home'.

Bellingham defended himself while speaking to the media after the game on Saturday too.

He told reporters: 'It's clear that it was a mistake and there is a miscommunication. I remember the incident very well but I've also seen the video and the video doesn't match the report.

'I don't want to go too much in detail about what was said but it's like a expression like 'joder'.

'I hope that the footage review can show that is not the same as the report and going forward that the federation can keep it under consideration because it's huge evidence.

'Obviously we can't change the result but I think that going forward there will be a change.'

He continued: 'There was no insult. You can see clearly in the video. I remember the incident very well. It was an expression to myself not directed towards the referee.

'But obviously there was a misunderstanding of what he believes I said to him. It wasn't an insult at all.'