Real Madrid are reportedly considering leaving La Liga after playmaker Jude Bellingham was handed a red card in their most recent league game against Osasuna.

Over the weekend (February 15), Los Blancos took a trip to El Sadar, where they played out a 1-1 draw with Osasuna. While Madrid dropped points in the title race, the major headlines were focused on the controversy surrounding Bellingham.

In the 39th minute, the 21-year-old Englishman spoke to referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero, who immediately brandished a straight red card.

The referee claimed that Bellingham had shouted “f*** you” at him, but the playmaker argued that he had said “f*** off” in frustration to himself. Following this, a report from Spanish outlet SPORT (via Daily Mail) has claimed that Real Madrid are contemplating joining another league in Europe. The club are reportedly looking to join Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue 1.

The Spanish giants, seemingly frustrated with the standards of officiating in the country after a series of controversies, have written a strongly worded letter to the Spanish FA. The letter called the refereeing system “completely flawed”. It also referred to their loss to Espanyol as “the most recent and gross manifestation of a refereeing system whose credibility is completely eroded.”

Notably, in their 1-0 loss to Espanyol on February 1, Carlos Romero was not sent off for a dangerous tackle on Kylian Mbappe. He went on to score for Espanyol, leading to Real Madrid’s open letter.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has slammed Real Madrid for open letter

After the damning letter from Real Madrid was published on the club’s website, La Liga president Javier Tebas slammed the club. He suggested that Los Blancos did not provide solutions to discussions about refereeing standards in Spain during earlier meetings.

Speaking about the letter during a meeting with clubs, Tebas admitted that the Spanish giants’ TV channel had often repeated the diatribe against referees (via Daily Mail):

“I was not at all surprised by Real Madrid’s letter, as it does not say anything different from what their television channel has been repeating for some time.

“Many of us advocate a radical change in the arbitration system, moving closer to the English or German model, with a completely different organisation and much more transparency in all the structural decisions of Spanish arbitration.”

In the meantime, Los Blancos will turn their focus towards the UEFA Champions League, where they face Manchester City in the playoffs at the Bernabeu on February 19.