Spanish referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero, the official at the highly discussed match between Osasuna and Real Madrid, in which he gave Jude Bellingham a red card for insulting, remains under investigation. Allegations have been made against him, linking his refereeing career to side businesses allegedly connected to certain institutions and clubs.Due to these claims, Montero will not be on the field or in the VAR room next weekend. On Tuesday, he issued a statement responding to all accusations, specifically emphasizing that the company he is involved with “has not invoiced any amount to any sports entity.”’F**k off’ or ’F**k you’? Jude will be punished no matter howIn later statements, the Spanish referee reiterated this, saying: “Zero euros, zero ties with any entity.” Munuera Montero highlighted that he has been enduring intense attacks for some time, with even his family members becoming victims.”They are vilifying my nephews, they are breaking my nine siblings, my 80-year-old father went to mass today and… I better keep quiet. What are we creating? How can we show in a newspaper the atrocities we are saying? Are we crazy? Do we control violence or promote it? This is getting out of hand. What kind of sport are we creating with football?”🚨 José Luis Munuera Montero: “I haven’t left my house all day, I have underage nephews who are being vilified. People have tried to go after my nine siblings as well as my 80-year-old father. This situation is getting out of control. Are we controlling violence, or are we… pic.twitter.com/YXTdEp1Hvu— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 19, 2025 Addressing claims that he has a Messi mural in his home, Munuera denied the allegations: “The Messi mural? I don’t live there, and I don’t have the office there. That’s the fiscal headquarters of another company that the partner shares.”The referee also confirmed that he received numerous death threats following the mentioned match: “Before I received a hundred thousand messages of death threats or insults again, I silenced the LinkedIn account so that it wouldn’t happen again.”He clarified that he silenced the messages: “That is for my protection and that of my family. They are in a terrible state, very worried. They haven’t asked me to quit because they know that’s impossible. My parents don’t deserve this.”The #RFEF have concluded that there is no conflict of interest related to Jose Luis Munuera Montero after revelations about his business activity. (Diario AS) #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/1yIWVoEkTB— Football España (@footballespana_) February 20, 2025 Finally, Montero shared his views on the position of referees in the football world: “Let them look at us with the same respect as clubs, players, and coaches. We are professionals like no other, we have worked very hard in many categories, it took me twenty years to reach the top division. What we want to do is dignify refereeing, work so that there are no mistakes, get along as best as possible with the clubs, so that the criteria are understood better and better, so that we all go in the same direction. We ask for respect,” concluded Montero.##NAJAVA_MECA_8726801##
