“If you say it here, they send you out” - Cristiano Ronaldo’s old comment on referees in England and Spain resurfaces after Bellingham red card

Cristiano Ronaldo's old comments on Spanish referees have resurfaced after Jude Bellingham was sent off during Real Madrid's LaLiga draw (1-1) against Osasuna on Saturday (February 15). The Portuguese superstar had once claimed that the officials in England never bothered when players said 'f*** off,' but in Spain, the players were sent off.

Bellingham was sent off for allegedly abusing the referee.

Speaking to La Sexta in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo said he could use cuss words during matches to express his frustration at fouls and mistakes. However, he was unable to do that in Spain, as referees would send him off. He said (via SPORTbible):

"I played in England for many years. For example, when there is a foul, the English say a lot of "f*** off", and the referees don't say anything. But if you say it here they send you out."

Cristiano Ronaldo played 438 matches for Real Madrid and finished with 450 goals and 131 assists. He was also sent off four times during his stint with Los Blancos – double the amount of times in his 346 games for Manchester United.

Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 after nine years and moved to Juventus. He moved to Manchester United in 2021 and has been playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia since January 2023.

Jude Bellingham's red card in Osasuna vs Real Madrid implies Cristiano Ronaldo's comments were true

Jude Bellingham was sent off by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero during Real Madrid's draw at Osasuna. Cristiano Ronaldo's comments about referees sending off players for saying "f*** off" were proven right when the Englishman was sent off.

However, the Real Madrid midfielder said he did not insult the official. Bellingham said (via TribalFootball):

“It's clear that the mistake was due to a misunderstanding. I remember everything very well and also the video doesn't match up with what was written in the referee’s report. I don't want to go into details of what was said, but it's an expression like ‘Oh my God.’"

He continued:

"It's difficult because when the referee isn’t sure and says something that I didn't say, the team suffers as a result. I just want to clarify that the team knows that I have not been so irresponsible as to put them in the situation of intentionally leaving them with 10 men."

"But of course, being involved in this situation, it looks like I was. I hope that the images are reviewed and confirm that what happened isn’t what it says in the referee’s report. There was no insult and it’s clear in the video; I directed it at myself. I'm not even addressing the referee directly. But obviously there was a misunderstanding. He thought I said it to him. I think maybe he was looking for this a little bit, but there was no insult," he added.