Jude Bellingham red card, Carlo Ancelotti explanation, comments

Jude Bellingham was sent off for swearing at a referee, which left Real Madrid a man down and unable to defend a lead as the La Liga leaders drew at Osasuna 1-1 on Sunday morning (AEDT).

The England star was given his marching orders five minutes before half-time.

Later, in what seemed to be a stretch of linguistic analysis, coach Carlo Ancelotti tried to defend his player by claiming that referee José Luis Munuera made a translation error.

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Bellingham was given a red card shortly before half time for swearing at the referee. Getty

"Bellingham didn’t do anything that deserved a sending off," Ancelotti said. "He said 'f--- off', not 'f--- you'. I don't think that was meant to be offensive."

Munuera wrote in his refereeing report that Bellingham told him "from just a few meters away, 'f--- you'."

Bellingham said "I don't want to go into details of what was said" but insisted he was unfairly treated, saying the referee made a translation error and that there was indeed a degree of difference between the expletive when combined with "off" or "you".

"It is clear that he made a mistake and there was a miscommunication," said the England midfielder, who got a two-game ban last season, after receiving a red card for using an expletive in English protesting a ref's call.

Kylian Mbappé put Madrid ahead in the 15th minute with his 11th goal in as many league games. But Madrid was outnumbered after Bellingham's red card.

Osasuna pulled level after the referee awarded a penalty after a video review and booked Eduardo Camavinga for stomping the foot of Ante Budimir in the box. Budimir slotted the 58th-minute equalizer past Thibaut Courtois to unleash celebrations at El Sadar Stadium.

Bellingham venting to Luka Modric after being shown the red card. AP

The draw in Pamplona put Madrid’s league lead in jeopardy. While Atletico Madrid failed to take advantage of the slip and stayed one point behind the frontrunners, Barcelona can pull level with its top rival if it beats Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Next up for Madrid is a home game against Manchester City on Wednesday when it will try to make good on its 3-2 win in their first meeting of the Champions League knockout rounds playoff.

Ancelotti was also shown a yellow card early after he complained excessively for what he thought was a handball by an Osasuna player in the host's area.

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