A much anticipated meeting between brothers Jude and Jobe Bellingham will have to wait, with the latter having been suspended for Real Madrid’s Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund.
The prospect of a quarter-final meeting was a subplot heading into the last-16, with the Bellingham brothers both in action for their respective sides.
Jude helped Real Madrid to secure a 1-0 victory over Juventus at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Hours later, Jobe was part of the Dortmund team that earned a 2-1 victory over Mexican side Monterrey.
The 19-year-old, however, was left to rue an unnecessary challenge in the first half of the match, which has led to him being suspended for the quarter-finals.
Bellingham was booked for a tackle on Monterrey’s Nelson Deossa on the wing, despite Dortmund leading 2-0 at the time through Serhou Guirassy’s early brace.
Jobe Bellingham will be suspended for Borussia Dortmund’s quarter-final against Real Madrid
Dortmund boss Niko Kovac admitted Bellingham was disappointed to miss facing brother Jude
Bellingham was booked in the first half for a challenge on Monterrey’s Nelson Deossa
With Bellingham having been booked in the group stages against Ulsan HD, Dortmund’s summer signing will now serve a one match ban under Club World Cup rules.
Dortmund boss Niko Kovac revealed Bellingham was ‘very disappointed’ post match about missing a showdown against his brother.
Kovac added that Bellingham was surprised to be suspended after two yellow cards in four matches, with bookings only wiped after the last-16.
‘I think we all saw that he was very disappointed,’ Kovac said.
‘I think he did not exactly know that the second yellow card is a suspension at half-time. He was a little bit surprised.
‘He’s young, his brother is also young so I’m convinced they will face each other, maybe next season in the Champions League and then the future. The future is for them.
‘The Club World Cup would be nice but now it isn’t. Someone else must play for him but it’s also OK.’
Bellingham was taken off in the 55th minute of the last-16 match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Kovac admitting the substitution was to prevent the £32million summer signing from being sent off.
Kovac revealed that he had taken Bellingham off to avoid him receiving a second yellow card
Jude Bellingham was booked in Real Madrid’s win over Juventus but can play in the last eight
It comes amid increased focus on Bellingham’s on pitch behaviour in recent weeks
‘I substituted him not because of his performance,’ Kovac added.
‘I changed because he had a yellow card in this game, and you saw we had some very intensive duels, and I did not want that someone is maybe then booked twice.’
Bellingham’s ban comes at a time where his brother Jude’s on-pitch behaviour has come under the spotlight.
England boss Thomas Tuchel admitted his mother finds Bellingham’s demeanour ‘repulsive’, with the comments coming after England’s friendly loss to Senegal last month.
Bellingham had chased down the fourth official and booted a water cooler after his late goal was disallowed against Senegal.
In an extraordinary interview, Tuchel then revealed that his behaviour can intimidate team-mates because of his over-aggressive manner and have a negative impact on the team.
Bellingham’s attitude towards team-mates was also questioned at last summer’s Euros.
Thomas Tuchel revealed that his mother finds some of Bellingham’s behaviour ‘repulsive’
The midfielder fumed after his late goal against Senegal was disallowed at the City Ground
Bellingham was given a two-match ban for swearing at the official during a match last season
He was also handed a two-match suspension for swearing at a referee in a 1-1 LaLiga draw with Osasuna in February.
He was dismissed by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero for foul and abusive language but the Englishman was adamant that he had not been abusive towards the referee, who accused the midfielder of telling him: ‘F*** you’.
Bellingham’s account was that he had said: ‘f*** off’, but that these words were aimed at himself in frustration, rather than at the match official.
The former Borussia Dortmund player was also caught swearing at the referee during Madrid’s 3-1 defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League in November.
