By Fernando Kallas
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s soccer federation (RFEF) said referees are sickened by the abuse Jose Munuera Montero has received since showing Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham a red card, with the situation reflecting the hate and verbal violence match officials endure.
Montero believed the 21-year-old England midfielder had directed foul language at him during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna and sent him off. However, Bellingham and his coach Carlo Ancelotti said that was a mistake.
Munuera closed his Instagram account after receiving tens of thousands of comments, including insults and death threats.
“We professional referees wish to express our utter condemnation of the attacks and threats that our colleague Jose Luis Munuera Montero is receiving through social networks,” the RFEF said in a statement late on Monday.
“These attacks are in addition to the verbal hatred and violence with which we have to perform our professional work every weekend and which, in the grassroots categories, in many more cases, even more regrettably turns into physical violence.”
Bellingham could face a lengthy ban but said the referee had misunderstood him as he was talking to himself in English. “There was no insult, you can see in the video right away, it was an expression to myself,” he said on Saturday. “But obviously there was a misunderstanding. He’s believed I’ve said it to him.”
Munuera also published a statement on Tuesday denying any wrongdoing after newspapers Marca and AS reported that the RFEF was looking into possible conflict of interest between his refereeing and a private sports consultancy company Talentus Sports Speakers that he co-owns.
The RFEF told Reuters its regulatory compliance committee was analysing whether his business was compatible with his refereeing.
Munuera said the company had not invoiced any sports entity since its creation and threatened legal action against media.
“In recent months, the disproportionate attack on the refereeing collective has become evident, and on this latest occasion I have been the target,” he said.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas in Madrid and Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Andrew Cawthorne)
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