According to reports, the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee yesterday penalized several Real Madrid players for incidents during the Copa del Rey final El Clásico. Rüdiger received a six-match ban, Lucas Vázquez a two-match suspension, while Jude Bellingham was pardoned without punishment.

Bellingham avoided suspension because Real Madrid submitted video evidence proving he did not insult the referee after receiving a red card at the end of the match, contrary to claims. Meanwhile, the referee’s match report stated: “He aggressively approached the referees after the final whistle, and his teammates restrained him—otherwise, the situation could have escalated.”

Iturralde González, a Spanish refereeing expert, spoke to Cadena SER about Real Madrid’s suspensions. He agreed with Bellingham’s pardon, stating: “The referee’s wording in the report allowed the committee to dismiss Bellingham’s case. The referee cannot protest his pardon when using phrases like ‘it seemed’ and ‘could have.'”

Regarding Rüdiger’s six-match ban, Iturralde said: “If we want to end violence in football, disciplinary laws must be enforced strictly. This ruling sends a strong message to grassroots football. Committing violent acts is bad enough, but dangerous aggression warrants severe punishment. He attempted to physically attack the referee—the decision is justified.”

The refereeing expert then criticized the committee and demanded Dani Carvajal’s suspension: “We’ve seen the committee take insults against referees seriously before, so why was Carvajal not penalized? A non-playing staff member used the vilest language against the referee—why wasn’t he suspended? Either suspend him or remove the rule penalizing referee abuse. If Carvajal isn’t punished, the disciplinary committee has lost its purpose and should disband.”