More problems are on the way for the 18-year old Jude Bellingham who made debatable remarks on the referee after Dortmund’s 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund just lost in the 1st “der Klassiker” of the season, all thanks to a VAR-reviewed penalty for Bavarians, which Robert Lewandowski easily converted to make it 3-2 with 13 minutes remaining in the match. The late decision was interpreted as a controversial call in the context of the earlier penalty claim from Dortmund when Marco Reus was seen tripped by Lucas Hernandez in the Bayern penalty area. But the referee, Felix Zwayer, decided to overrule the appeal. Dortmund’s manager Marco Rose was also sent to the stands after protesting the penalty decision after a VAR review in the 77th minute of the match.
𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 win to stay top! 💪
🔴⚪ #BVBFCB 2-3 pic.twitter.com/DlyLcN4Rge
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) December 4, 2021
After the match, a furious Bellingham hardly managed to control his frustration at the referee’s decisions and made some unusual remarks in an interview.
“You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?”
“For me, it wasn’t [a penalty]. He [Hummels] is not even looking at the ball and he’s fighting to get it and it hits him.
“You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game”; said the young Dortmund midfielder after the defeat who was referencing Zwayer’s six-month ban from football by the German FA in 2005, when he was caught involved in a match-fixing scandal.
Jude Bellingham wasn't happy with the refereeing of Der Klassiker 🤐 pic.twitter.com/GxUxZpP5QZ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 4, 2021
A criminal complaint has been filed and the case has been forwarded to Dortmund’s public prosecutor against the English midfielder who will determine the need for further actions to be taken against Bellingham after the investigation from German police. Referee Zwayer however himself hasn’t taken any action regarding the case but only defended his decision after the match.
Bellingham could technically face a ban of up to six months for “unsportsmanlike conduct” as per the sports law within the German football system but such a ban might portray harshness on the young lad as it is yet to be seen whether he will get any ban or not.
The most probable punishment could be fine, with Bellingham almost being given a financial punishment that will give a shoutout increment to the previous record of €20,000, which was given to Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne in 2015 when he insulted a ball boy.
