European football: Bellingham says his red card was wrong after Madrid draw

Jude Bellingham said that he was wrongly sent off and Carlo Ancelotti was left fuming over several refereeing decisions after Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Osasuna, extending the visitors’ winless La Liga run to three games. Bellingham said of the 39th-minute incident: “I do not want to go into the details of what was said, but I didn’t insult the referee and I hope they review the footage because it was a misunderstanding, but I am here to apologise to the team anyways.”.

His Italian manager criticised the video assistant referee for not intervening in three possible penalties for what he thought were fouls on Vinícius Júnior and Bellingham and a handball inside the box by Alejandro Catena. Ancelotti was further angered early in the second half when the referee awarded Osasuna a penalty after he was called by the VAR to review Eduardo Camavinga’s stamp on Ante Budimir’s foot. The Croatian striker duly scored from the spot to cancel out Kylian Mbappé’s first-half opener.

“I believe there were things that have happened in these last three games that everyone has seen and I don’t want to add more, because I’m looking forward to being on the bench in the next game,” Ancelotti said. “The referee booked me after I told him that there was a handball in Osasuna’s penalty area and that he should have gone and check it on the VAR … They must have turned on the VAR later …”.

Ancelotti also complained about the red card shown to Bellingham, arguing that the English midfielder had not insulted the referee during one of the many arguments Real Madrid players had with the official during the game. Ancelotti’s frustration adds more fuel to Real’s clashes with refereeing, after the club complained about the Spanish league’s match officials earlier in February. Real earned a point to stay on top of La Liga in what is shaping up to be a tight title race. Winless in their last three league games, Madrid top the standings with 51 points, one ahead of second-placed Atlético Madrid and three clear of Barcelona in third, with Barça playing their game in hand at home to Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Atlético Madrid wasted a golden opportunity to go top as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Celta Vigo. Atlético played almost the entire game a man short after the midfielder Pablo Barrios was shown a straight red card for a reckless studs-up tackle on Pablo Durán in the fourth minute. Iago Aspas fired home a 68th-minute penalty after Robin Le Normand had fouled Borja Iglesias inside the area but Alexander Sørloth came off the bench to finish off a counterattack in the 81st minute and rescue a valuable point for the home side.

Borussia Dortmund conceded two goals in three minutes to slump to a 2-0 Bundesliga defeat by relegation-threatened Bochum in their mini Ruhr valley derby for a second straight league loss under their new coach, Niko Kovac. Bochum shot out of the blocks and had three chances in the opening nine minutes, a warning that Dortmund, fresh from their 3-0 midweek win at Sporting for their Champions League playoff first leg, did not heed. The hosts opened their account in the 33rd minute with Giorgos Masouras, who joined in January, pushing the ball over the line from close range. The Greek scored again two minutes later, intercepting Niklas Süle’s weak backpass to his goalkeeper and beating Gregor Kobel to stun the visitors.

A last-gasp goal by the substitute Boulaye Dia earned Lazio a 2-2 home draw against Napoli, with Antonio Conte’s Serie A leaders now at risk of being knocked off top spot later this weekend. Napoli, on 56 points, are two points above second-placed Inter, who can move top when they visit Juventus, in fifth, on Sunday. In a fast-paced encounter, Gustav Isaksen put Lazio in front after six minutes with an excellent shot from distance that went in after brushing the underside of the crossbar. Giacomo Raspadori equalised for Napoli seven minutes later, firing the ball through the legs of Ivan Provedel in Lazio’s goal after a Romelu Lukaku pass.

Napoli took the lead in the 64th minute after the Lazio defender Adam Marusic put the ball into his own goal. The Lazio midfielder Mattia Zaccagni responded by finding the net with a stunning overhead kick three minutes later but his effort was ruled out for offside. However, Dia levelled for the hosts in the 87th, sending a low shot into the far corner. A wasteful Milan breathed a sigh of relief as they secured a narrow 1-0 Serie A win at home against Verona, courtesy of a late Santiago Giménez goal.

The gloom that had set in at San Siro lifted in the 75th minute when Giménez headed home after a ball into the box was cleverly directed into his path by Rafael Leão. The Portuguese forward had a late chance to double the lead as he stormed into the box, but the opportunity went begging as Verona cleared to the sound of the final whistle. The result put Milan in seventh place with 41 points, five behind Lazio in fourth, the last qualifying spot for next season’s Champions League. Verona are 15th.