England captain David Beckham, who was sent off for the first time since joining Real Madrid, put the incident down to harsher refereeing in Spain.

Beckham was shown a yellow card midway through the second half of Real's 3-0 King's Cup quarter-final first leg victory over Valencia at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, apparently for something he said to the referee.

The former Manchester United midfielder, who joined Real last July, was then dismissed for a second booking, given for clipping the heels of Argentine midfielder Pablo Aimar three minutes from time.

"I definitely didn't think it was deserved because I was running back and I just clipped the back of his ankle," Beckham told reporters after the game.

"I don't know what the first card was for. Even if I did say something to the referee he wouldn't have understood it.

"It's different for English players in Spain. The mentality here is different. You can get away with things in the premiership that you can't get away with here.

"I definitely wouldn't have been sent off for that in England but I've got no qualms with the referee. It's his decision and that's the end of it."

Beckham will miss the second leg of the Cup quarter-final next week, when Real will look to defend their three-goal lead at Valencia.