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Fans on social media were in disbelief at Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham's sending off in their LaLiga clash with Osasuna today. The Englishman was shown a straight red for dissent, triggering angry reactions online from the club's supporters.
Los Blancos are away at the El Sadar against Los Rojillos in a crucial fixture as they look to return to winning ways after a loss and a draw in the league. Kylian Mbappe fired them in front after only 15 minutes as they went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
However, it wasn't all smooth-sailing for them in Pamplona, as Bellingham was given his marching orders in the 39th minute following an altercation with the match official.
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As Osasuna were awarded a free-kick, Bellingham remonstrated with the referee, Jose Luis Montero. Angered with repeated protests, Montero proceeded to show the Real Madrid midfielder a straight red in the 39th minute, much to everyone's shock.
Fans took to X to express their dismay. Here are some of their reactions:
A verified X user by the name Bandz tweeted:
"RIDICULOUS. These refs need to be fired."
Another user called "fan account" tweeted that LaLiga is rigged against Real Madrid:
"This league is rigged"
An account by the name 'junior' wrote -
Another X user by the name Dani tweeted:
"LMFAO WHAT IS THIS CORRUPTION LMFAO"
A verified account called ThriveWell asked in disbelief:
One fan quipped that they've never seen a red card being given to a player for merely arguing with the referee:
"Never seen a straight red card for arguing before."
Real Madrid in danger of losing lead at top of LaLiga
After two winless outings, Real Madrid have seen their lead at the top of the LaLiga table cut to just a point. Another slip-up today would open the door for Atletico Madrid to leapfrog them into first position.
At the time of writing, Osasuna have equalized in the match, thanks to an Ante Budimir penalty. Los Blancos are heading for a draw, unless they are able to find a late winner and seal all three points.
Following a spell of solid results, Real Madrid's title defense has lost momentum a bit as fatigue has kicked in after their fixture-list got congested in recent weeks.
