Jobe Bellingham’s parents, Denise and Mark, were reportedly angry and upset after their son’s Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund against St Pauli on Saturday
Borussia Dortmund have changed their protocols after Jobe Bellingham’s father caused a scene following their disappointing start to the Bundesliga season.
Dortmund kicked off their campaign with a 3-3 draw at St Pauli on Saturday after imploding in the final stages. Nico Kovac’s side appeared to be cruising at 3-1 but conceded a penalty and had a man sent off as St Pauli roared back to score twice in the final four minutes of normal time.
There was a chastening Bundesliga debut for Bellingham, who was hauled off at half-time by Kovac as part of a double substitution. The 19-year-old midfielder followed in the footsteps of his brother by joining Dortmund in a £32million move from Sunderland this summer but his first start didn’t go to plan.
The match in Hamburg was watched by Jobe’s parents, Denise and Mark, who were left unhappy with Kovac’s decision and the result. Sky Sports Germany reported that Mark sought out Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl after the final whistle before making his feelings known loudly in the corridor outside the dressing room.
BILD said that Mark, who is his son’s agent and advisor, then demanded to speak with Kovac, where he ‘made no secret of his opinion’. It was an embarrassing situation for the club, who have acted by changing who can access the dressing room.
“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,” the club’s managing director, Lars 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 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.”
Kovac substituted Karim Adeyemi as well as Bellingham at half-time and noted post-match that he could have taken “four others” off as well. “We failed to match the opponent in terms of physicality and strength,” he said. “We played too slowly and rarely exploited depth. The goals we score all come from individual quality.”
He added: “Today, we experienced exactly what I told the team: It’s going to be intense, and we have to work very hard physically to get something out of it. I think we hardly managed that over the full 90 minutes.
“We weren’t as focused as I would have liked for the entire 90 minutes. We had a 3-1 lead and got the most out of our quality players as far as finishing is concerned. But we didn’t embrace the fight like we should have here in St Pauli. That’s why we have to be satisfied with this point at the end of the day.”
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