An expert lip-reader has said he is ’97 per cent confident’ that Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham mouthed a shocking insult at Mason Greenwood during their heated derby meeting on Thursday evening.
The two English players saw out their first meeting of the season following Greenwood’s move to LaLiga side Getafe in September of last year and Bellingham’s signing with Real Madrid in June.
The 22-year-old forward mutually agreed to leave former side Manchester United on loan following the conclusion of an internal investigation into the player’s conduct.
Greenwood had previously been charged with attempted rape, assault, and coercive behaviour in January 2022 but charges were dropped on February 2023 by the Crown Prosecution Service following the withdrawal of key witnesses.
Thursday’s clash saw Bellingham land a crunching tackle on the Getafe player to force the ball out of play, and when footage of the incident circulated on social media, fans believe they noticed the England international mutter the word ‘rapist’ at the forward.
Jude Bellingham (white) and Mason Greenwood (blue) faced off in the Getafe-Real Madrid derby clash on Thursday night
Expert lipreader Jeremy Freeman is ’97 per cent confident’ Bellingham levied a particular insult at Greenwood
In his analysis of the clip, expert witness and forensic lip-reader Jeremy Freeman exclusively told Mail Sport: ‘After carefully analysing the clip, I am 97 per cent confident that the spoken word is “rapist”, particularly when considering the context in which it was used.
‘The visual cues of the lips indicate the presence of the ‘R’ and ‘P’ sounds, and the word appears to end sharply.
‘Additionally, the speaker seems to have a pronounced Brummie accent, which I factored into my interpretation,’ Freeman added.
‘Given the clarity of these visual markers and the absence of any viable alternative interpretation, I am quite certain of this conclusion.’
In the aftermath of the clip’s circulation on social media, Getafe have decided to take action, asking the game’s referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to record the alleged insult in his match report.
Doing so could yet subject Bellingham to a disciplinary procedure from the Spanish football federation (RFEF), although without audio, it could be a hard case to prove.
Getafe have also reported the incident to the LaLiga deligate present at Estadio Coliseum to record the alleged insult, although the club has not levelled a formal complaint at Bellingham.
The clip was analysed with Freeman taking Bellingham’s Birmingham accent into account
The alleged comment came just after the Real Madrid sensation had tackled Greenwood near the touchline
Bellingham’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
The Los Blancos starlet was a lynchpin player for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who waltzed away from the derby with a 2-0 victory courtesy of a brace from former Newcastle striker Joselu.
Victory has taken the team back to the top of LaLiga, two points ahead of surprise package Girona.
Greenwood was unable to have the same impact for his home side, playing the full 90 minutes in blue, hitting the post in the second half.
