Borussia Dortmund have banned Jobe Bellingham’s parents from coming to players dressing room after Saturday’s reported incident involving his parents
Dortmund were Leading 3-1 at St Pauli in the 85th minute of their Bundesliga season-opener, but they squandered their advantage to draw 3-3.
The tension around that result was reportedly heightened by Jobe Bellingham’s parents, Mark and Denise, who were unhappy after seeing their son being substituted at half-time on his German top-flight debut and waited in the tunnel at full-time to confront the Dortmund management about it.
According to Sky Sports Germany, Mark, who also acts as his son’s advisor, held an emotional discussion with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
The report claims Bellingham senior voiced his anger over both the substitution and the team’s overall performance.
BILD added that Mark Bellingham sought a meeting with manager Niko Kovac directly – and ‘made no secret of his opinion.’
Mark Bellingham reportedly tried to confront the Dortmund manager over his son’s substitution
Some Dortmund players were also said to have noticed how emotional he was, with his anger reportedly fuelled by both his son’s early substitution and the disappointing display.
But speaking about the situation, Dortmund’s managing director Lars Ricken played down the nature of the chat insisting it was ‘not a problem’ but confirmed that an incident like this will not happen in future with family members now banned from that area.
‘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,’ Ricken told Sky90 – The Football Debate.
‘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 only players, coaches, and other 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.’
Nineteen-year-old Bellingham, who joined Dortmund this summer in a £32million move from Sunderland, started Saturday’s clash away at St Pauli but was substituted at the interval by Kovac after an ineffective first half.
Dortmund were in control with a 3-1 lead, only to concede twice in the final four minutes and left Hamburg with a single point.
It was said that Mark sought a meeting with Niko Kovac and ‘made no secret of his opinion’
Dortmund chief Lars Ricken confirmed family members can no longer visit the dressing room.
Jobe is the younger brother of Jude Bellingham
Kovac admitted afterwards: ‘When you lead 3-1, then you cannot play a 3-3 even against this very good St Pauli team.’
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Jobe, who wears the No 7 shirt, has already featured at the FIFA Club World Cup since completing his big-money switch and came off the bench in Dortmund’s German Cup win over Rot-Weiss Essen earlier this month.
But Saturday marked his Bundesliga debut – one cut short after just 45 minutes.
The midfielder joined Dortmund in June after helping Sunderland win promotion from the Championship, signing a five-year deal.
His transfer fee, worth an initial £27.8m plus add-ons, set a new record for the Wearside club.
Despite the family connection, Jobe insisted at the time he had not crossed to Germany simply to follow in his elder brother Jude’s footsteps.
Real Madrid star Jude previously spent three years at Dortmund before completing his blockbuster switch to Spain in 2023.
Saturday’s clash in Hamburg was only Jobe’s sixth competitive outing for Dortmund.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
