Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has stated his players must pull back from “disrespectful” behaviors towards referees after Real Madrid’s Jude Belligham was sent off for arguing with the match official in the 1-1 draw at Osasuna.
Bellingham insisted after Saturday’s contest that he did not insult the referee and admitted the situation was a misunderstanding – and the following day, he apologized on social media for ‘leaving his teammates in a tough position’.
Speaking to the media, Flick hammered he had spoken to his squad about the importance of avoiding altercations with match officials.
“It’s disrespect. For me, it’s like that. But I don’t have to decide [the punishments],” he said in a press conference.
“I don’t like this behaviour and I said this today to my players because it’s very important. It is not good for the team when you do this and get the red card. It’s a weakness and we don’t like that.
“We have one person on the pitch who is allowed to discuss with the referee and that is the captain. We have to accept that.”
The Blaugrana have returned to the top of LaLiga following their win over Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
