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.

It ruined the game - Arbeloa

Media caption,

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.

"It's your fault," Carvajal is seen shouting.

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.

He wrote on Instagram after the game: "This isn't how it should've been. We're very sorry. We will be back. Hala Madrid."

Guler will now miss the first game of next season's league phase.

Manager Alvaro Arbeloa said the sending-off "obviously" decided the match, insisting: "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."

Spanish journalist Juan Castro described the mood of those at Real as one of disbelief.

"People are very angry at the referee," he said. "They are very worried about what has happened in Munich. This will have consequences.