Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham is at risk of being slapped with a mammoth 12-game domestic suspension following his red card in Saturday's 1-1 La Liga draw with Osasuna.
Los Blancos dropped a potentially crucial two points in the title race at El Sadar, where Kylian Mbappe's 17th league goal of the season was cancelled out by an Ante Budimir penalty.
Real Madrid are still top of the La Liga table, one point clear of Atletico Madrid following their failure to beat Villarreal, but Barcelona will rise to the summit if they defeat Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
In between Mbappe and Budimir's goals, however, England international Bellingham was given a straight red card by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero for something he said to the official.
Montero's referee's report claimed that Bellingham said "f*** you" to him, but the ex-Birmingham City youngster has instead claimed that there was "miscommunication" between him and the 41-year-old.
Carlo Ancelotti had his player's back in his post-match press conference, explaining: "I think he didn't understand English well, because he said 'f*** off', not 'f*** you'.
Why Bellingham could face 12-game ban for Osasuna red card
"So, I think he made a mistake there, because the translation of 'f*** off' into Spanish would be 'don't f*** with me'. I don't think it's offensive.
"Things have happened in these last three games that everyone has seen. I don't feel like adding more, because I really want to be on the bench in the next game. I don't want to get involved in this."
As per FutbolFantasy, article 94 of the RFEF Disciplinary Code states that any player found to have directly insulted the referee could be slapped with a ban ranging from four to 12 matches.
However, should Bellingham be found to have committed the lesser offence of a "lack of respect or contempt", then he may only have to serve a two or three-match suspension as per article 117.
The 21-year-old has excelled under Ancelotti again this season with 11 goals and 10 assists from 33 appearances in all tournaments, taking his total for Los Blancos to a marvellous 34 goals and 23 assists from 76 outings.
Which games could Bellingham miss if banned for 12 matches?
While a 12-match ban for Bellingham seems incredibly unlikely, the Englishman would not be permitted to play domestic football again until May if handed the most severe sanction.
Bellingham could sit out a total of 10 La Liga games and two Copa del Rey matches; Ancelotti's side face Real Sociedad in a two-legged semi-final, with the first leg being played on February 26 and the second on April 1.
In terms of La Liga battles, Bellingham could sit out intriguing clashes with Real Betis (March 2) and Villarreal (March 15), but there are no prizes for guessing who Real Madrid play 13 domestic games from now.
Indeed, Los Blancos face none other than El Clasico rivals Barcelona on May 10, and even if Bellingham incurs a staggering 12-match ban, he will return in time for that fixture in the event that such a punishment takes effect before Real's next domestic game.
Regardless of any league punishment, Bellingham is fine to feature in the Champions League, where Real Madrid will look to finish the job against Manchester City in Wednesday's playoff second leg after a 3-2 win at the Etihad last week. body check tags ::
