Jobe Bellingham slapped with ban after being sent off during Borussia Dortmund's draw with Freiburg

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham's younger brother Jobe's performances for Sunderland last season caught the eye of several Premier League sides following the Black Cats' successful playoff campaign, but it was Dortmund who won the race to secure the youngster's services over the summer. The 20-year-old was initially the first choice under coach Niko Kovac following his arrival, but was dropped following a series of sub-par displays. 

On Sunday, the summer signing made just his fifth league start of the season in Dortmund's trip to Freiburg, but was shown a straight red card in the 53rd minute for a foul on Philipp Treu after an error in judgment by goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. 

Bellingham was adjudged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity and was given his marching orders by the referee. Dortmund had gone ahead on the half-hour mark through Ramy Bensebaini, but Freiburg ensured a share of the spoils through Lucas Holer with 15 minutes to play in Sunday's 1-1 draw at the Europa-Park Stadion. 

Following his direct red card against Freiburg, the German Football Association (DFB) has now imposed a two-game suspension on the Englishman. This means Bellingham will miss Dortmund's next two Bundesliga clashes against Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday and against Eintracht Frankfurt on January 9.

The official statement from Dortmund read: "The DFB sports court has set the suspension for Jobe Bellingham. Following the red card in the match against SC Freiburg, the midfielder will not be available to BVB in the upcoming two Bundesliga matches."

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Dortmund custodian Gregor Kobel came to Bellingham's defence following his sending off as the Swiss shot-stopper told DAZN: "If the red card doesn't happen, the game looks different. We allowed little until then, had the game under control and were very dominant. It was certainly a misunderstanding [regarding the situation that led to the red card]. I initially had the feeling that he had a lot of space. In the end, I have to play a better pass so that he doesn't commit this foul. I take that on myself. We were under a lot of pressure after that."

Manager Niko Kovac, however, refused to put the blame on any one player as he told DAZN: "We played a complete half with ten men. You have to live with a 1-1 in Freiburg – that is a good team. Of course, we are dissatisfied with the result. But if you look at how it came about, I have to and can live with it. We made life difficult for ourselves through that action. That is football: Whoever makes decisions also makes mistakes. This one cost us the game. We controlled it in the first half, were very serious, allowed nothing great. If you are one man down, it is difficult to play football."

The draw left Dortmund third in the table but now nine points behinds leaders Bayern Munich. With the winter break fast approaching, the margin for error is becoming increasingly slim. Kovac's side have shown flashes of brilliance this season, particularly in their defensive organisation during the first half in the Freiburg clash, but individual errors continue to impact their campaign.