The England legend described Mark Bellingham as the ‘most powerful man in English football’
One of the greatest players in English football history has publicly criticised the behaviour of Mark Bellingham, father and advocate for Jobe and Jude Bellingham.
The Bellingham brothers are two of the best players in world football, with Jude, 22, a star at Real Madrid and Jobe, 20, now playing for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund after making a name for himself by starring in Sunderland’s promotion back to the Premier League last season.
Mark Bellingham hit headlines a few weeks ago after a reported confrontation between the high-profile father and Borrusia Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl.
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Jobe Bellingham joined the Bundesliga club for £27.8 million this summer but has made just two starts for the four time German champions since.
While the reasons for his reduced playtime have been cited by Dortmund’s Croatian manager Kovac as being down to squad competition and the need for Jobe to adjust to German football, it didn’t prevent a reported disagreement from occurring.
The reported confrontation took place back in August when Jobe was substituted at half-time of his Bundesliga debut.
Reports at the time suggested that Mark Bellingham had waited in the tunnel at half-time where he had an emotional discussion with the club figure.
The incident has now gained the attention of legendary English footballer Sir Geoff Hurst.
Hurst, best known for scoring a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final, discussed Mark Bellingham while speaking at an event in Bristol.
The 83-year-old said: “A thing that has irritated me is a picture in one of the papers about the most powerful man in English football – and it’s Jude Bellingham’s father.
“He was complaining when his son was taken off in a game – and that is an absolute joke. If you don’t eradicate that kind of thing, that is an absolute disgrace.”
Despite the emotional incident, figures at Dortmund have since played down rumours of a rift between Mark Bellingham and the club.
Dortmund’s managing director Lars Ricken recently said: “We got Jobe Bellingham because we really built a relationship of trust with the parents over the years. Now the family flew in especially for their son’s first Bundesliga game and wanted to meet Jobe after the game.
“They stood in the hallway to the locker room and had an emotional conversation with Sebastian, which, however, is not a problem at all given this relationship.
“In the future though, we will ensure that players, coaches, and any officials have access to the locker room area, so that we no longer get into trouble by commenting on such news.
“But today everything has been resolved – no drama.”
