Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is currently under investigation by the Royal Spanish Football Federation for allegedly calling Getafe's Mason Greenwood a "rapist".
A brace from Real Madrid forward Joselu saw the visiting side defeat Getafe 2-0 at Estadio Coliseum last week but the match was overshadowed by a critical moment between Greenwood and Bellingham.
Bellingham-Greenwood incident
The Real Madrid midfielder tackled Greenwood near the touchline during the second half of the game. After the ball went out of play, the former Borussia Dortmund player was seen saying a two-syllable word in the direction of his compatriot. But the pitch-side microphones did not pick up exactly what Bellingham said.
The footage captured on the TV cameras suggested Bellingham had mouthed the word "rapist". La Liga has since hired a lip-reading expert to determine what was said. The expert lip-reader has reportedly claimed that he is "97 per cent confident" that was the case.
La Liga, meanwhile, has reported the incident to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). After each match week, the Spanish top flight sends a list of incidents to the RFEF for further investigation and action. The latest encounter between Bellingham and Greenwood was one of the incidents included following last week's games.
"It must also be reported that after the end of the match, messages were detected through social media regarding a possible incident in which visiting player Jude Bellingham allegedly insulted local player Mason Greenwood in English.
"Numerous media outlets have reported on this incident, as evidenced in the attached incident report," the incident report read.
Getafe lodged a complaint
Greenwood's club Getafe have also complained to both the La Liga officials present at the game over the alleged slur from Bellingham. Getafe, who are currently in 10th place in the La Liga table, also asked the game's referee, Ricardo do Burgos Bengoetxea, to put it in writing in his match report.
Bellingham could face a potential ban from the Spanish FA if he is found to have actually used the alleged offensive remark. But it would be difficult to prove without clear audio, especially with several fans suggesting the word used by Bellingham was "rubbish", according to media reports.
Meanwhile, La Liga has reported another incident from the same game between Getafe and Real Madrid. The Spanish league has claimed that there were alleged racist chants directed towards Vinicius Jr from Getafe fans, with the RFEF further investigating into it.
La Liga's report on the Vinicius incident read: "A recording is detected among the crowd in which numerous local fans sing intolerant chants, individually hearing the cries of "sons of b**ches," "Vinicius, monkey", being accompanied by several fans with the chant, "Puta Real Madrid."
Case against Mason Greenwood
In January 2022, Greenwood was charged with attempted rape, assault and coercive behaviour. The charges were dropped a year later by the Crown Prosecution Service following the withdrawal of key witnesses. However, Manchester United carried out their own internal investigation and kept him suspended on full pay of £75,000-a-week. At the end of the investigation, the Old Trafford club and the player mutually decided to part ways.
Manchester United did not terminate Greenwood's contract but sent him on a season-long loan to Getafe ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. The 22-year-old winger has scored seven goals and four assists in 22 matches in all competitions for Getafe in the ongoing season.
It was earlier reported that Greenwood had informed his agents about wanting to make a "dream move" to FC Barcelona. Both parties are interested in a move and the next step is for Barcelona and Manchester United to "come to an agreement". The Red Devils have decided to sell Greenwood and head coach Erik ten Hag has accepted that the forward won't be returning to Old Trafford.
