Real Madrid have 3 sent off in testy end to Copa del Rey final

SEVILLE, Spain — Jude Bellingham, Antonio Rüdiger and Lucas Vázquez were all shown red cards in the dramatic closing stages of Real Madrid’s 3-2 extra-time defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.

Madrid fought back after going behind to Pedri’s first-half strike, with a Kylian Mbappé free kick and an Aurélien Tchouaméni header putting them in front, before Barça’s Ferran Torres levelled to force extra time.

Jules Koundé scored the winning goal in the 116th minute, and then, as Madrid desperately pushed for an equaliser, Rüdiger and Vázquez — who had both already been substituted — were both dismissed.

The Germany international was sent off for protesting the decision by referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to award a foul against Mbappé in the game’s last seconds, denying Madrid one last chance to launch an attack.

Rüdiger threw an object onto the pitch from the bench, and then had to be repeatedly held back by a number of teammates and staff after being shown the red card.

Vázquez was also dismissed for disputing the referee’s decisions, and entering the field of play.

The referee’s report later confirmed that after the game, Bellingham had been sent off for “approaching the referee with an aggressive attitude, and having to be restrained by his teammates.”

“I don’t know what happened, we’ll have to see,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “I can just say Rüdiger played a fantastic game. He kept going as long as he could [before being substituted]. He was tired and couldn’t do any more, so I can only say I appreciate the effort he put in.”

Ancelotti said Mbappé had started on the bench for Madrid — being introduced at half-time – because he hadn’t fully recovered his fitness after suffering a sprained ankle in the Champions League defeat to Arsenal 10 days earlier.

“Mbappé wasn’t able to play 90 minutes, so I preferred to put him on in the second half when the rhythm had dropped a bit,” Ancelotti said. “He played very well.”

Madrid’s loss is the third time they have been beaten by Barcelona this season, after falling 4-0 in LaLiga, and 5-2 in the Spanish Supercopa.

They still have a chance of winning the league title, currently sitting four points behind Barça, with five games left to play, including another Clásico on May 11.