Real finish red-faced as Beckham gets the order again

The England captain could face a suspension that stretches into next season as he continued to scream obscenities at the official long after being shown the red card, and jeeringly applauded the decision when he finally left the field.

The agony started early as Murcia, with former Real coach John Toshack at the helm, opened the scoring after just two minutes. Luis Garcia was on hand to tap the ball in after Real’s Spanish international ’keeper Iker Casillas, normally one of the safest guardians in the top flight of Spanish football, failed to hang onto a header by Richi Perez.

One goal would have been enough for Luis Garcia to prove a point. He was the top scorer for the Real Madrid reserve team last season before being discarded last summer, but Luis Garcia added to Real’s embarrassment with Murcia’s second from the penalty spot after 33 minutes.

Ivan Helguera was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball in the area but many pundits were quick to point out it could be called natural justice after the number of dubious penalties Real themselves have been awarded this season.

Jose Maria ‘Guti’ Gutierrez got one back for Real in injury time but it was too late to snatch a point. Real slip to third in the Spanish first division, two points behind their bitter rivals Barcelona, who beat Racing Santander 1-0 earlier yesterday.

Barca’s win came thanks to a penalty from Ronaldinho after 15 minutes, after the Brazilian World Cup winner had been tripped. The Barca faithfuls also said goodbye to former Spanish international Luis Enrique Martinez, who will be leaving at the end of the season.

Luis Enrique played his 300th league game for Barca yesterday. It is probable he will retire, although he has received an offer of a lucrative valedictory season in Qatar.

Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao secured themselves a place in next season’s UEFA Cup, after a five-year absence from European competition, with a 2-1 victory at Osasuna. The Basques had two goals disallowed in the first half but finally got one that counted barely a minute after the break from Francisco Yeste.

Ismael Urzaiz added Athletic’s second after 62 minutes, a header with his first touch of the ball just after coming on as a substitute.