‘Repulsive’—Thomas Tuchel Makes Shock Jude Bellingham Admission | OneFootball

New England boss Thomas Tuchel revealed his mother deems Jude Bellingham’s behavior on the pitch “repulsive” at times.

Bellingham took center stage in the Three Lions’ shocking 3–1 defeat to Senegal at the City Ground. The Real Madrid superstar came on as a substitute in the 71st minute and briefly thought he scored an equalizer for England, but his effort was wiped away for handball by Levi Colwill.

The midfielder was visibly angry at the VAR decision and let his frustration show at the final whistle. Harry Kane was forced to step in and hold Bellingham back from confronting an official.

While Tuchel said he welcomes the “edge” and “fire” Bellingham brings to the team, the German manager acknowledges that the 21-year-old must better channel his emotions on the pitch.

“[Bellingham] has the fire. He has the fire. I don’t want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire. That’s his strength,” Tuchel said in an interview with talkSPORT.

“But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a teammate. You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need and he has a certain edge that is hard to find.”

Jude Bellingham (right) was dismayed when his goal was disallowed against Senegal. / IMAGO/Focus Images

Bellingham came under fire at Real Madrid back in February for being sent off after an altercation with referee Munuera Montero. The England international received a two-match ban for swearing at the official.

“[Bellingham’s] a nice kid and very open, very intelligent,” Tuchel continued. “I struggle to see that [England would be better off without him]. I struggle to see that. I think it has to be the other way around. How we can have the best version of him, but I see that it can create mixed emotions.”

Tuchel did not hold back when sharing his mother’s feelings toward the No. 10.

“I see this with my parents, with my mum, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see and the smile,” he said.

“If he smiles, he wins everyone [over]. But sometimes you see the rage, you see the hunger, and the rage and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive. For example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV [watching him].”

It will likely be a long time before Tuchel’s mother can watch Bellingham in an England kit again, though. The midfielder is off to represent Real Madrid at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup and then expected to undergo surgery to finally fix a lingering shoulder injury.

The operation will almost assuredly rule Bellingham out of representing the Three Lions in their September 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.

The pressure will be on Tuchel to lead England to victory without one of his most important players, especially after he made some unwanted history in just his fourth game in charge; Senegal became the first African national team in history to defeat the England men's national team.