Jude Bellingham spoke calmly after the full-time whistle against Chelsea but let his frustrations known regarding the result and refereeing decision.
The 19-year-old midfielder may have just played his last game in the Champions League wearing the Borussia Dortmund. Having lost 2-0 on the night, courtesy of a contentious refereeing decision, the England international let his thoughts known by speaking to the media after the game.
When a VAR review deemed Marius Wolf had handled the ball inside the BVB box, Bellingham was confused: “I’m not sure what else to do with his hands.”
The midfielder went on to explain that Wolf was just “a metre or two” away from the ball when it was kicked.
Bellingham was wise not to go into too much detail. In December 2021, he was fined €40k for comments he made towards a refereeing decision after losing to Bayern Munich.
He eluded to this by saying, tongue in cheek: “I don’t want any problems, I paid them enough.”
Bellingham’s frustrations didn’t end there, however. When Havertz missed the original penalty, it was brought back for encroachment by some BVB players. Replays also showed several Chelsea players doing the same.
“I think that’s a joke,” Bellingham said. “With every penalty, especially when it starts so slowly, there are those who cross the edge of the penalty area by a meter or so.”
He concluded on diplomatic terms: “He made his decision and we have to live with it.”
The loss ends Dortmund’s unbeaten run in 2023 which has seen them rise the Bundesliga table and keep pace for league-leaders Bayern. Next up for Bellingham and Dortmund is a derby clash with Schalke 04. Although disappointing, perhaps the loss will enable BVB to focus completely on the Bundesliga as they try to claim their first title in over a decade.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
