Rabat – Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho has strongly criticized the refereeing decisions in his team’s 2-1 defeat to Atlético Madrid today, arguing that two first-half challenges should have resulted in red cards for the home side.
The Portuguese coach arrived at his post-match press conference carrying printed photographs of the incidents, using them to explain why he believed the officiating had influenced the outcome of the Madrid derby.
“We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said while displaying the images.
He was referring to challenges involving Atlético defender Cristian Romero on Jude Bellingham and midfielder Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde.
Mourinho described both incidents as deserving straight red cards and argued that Real Madrid could have played much of the match against nine opponents.
View this post on Instagram
The referee, Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias, reviewed Romero’s challenge following a VAR intervention, overturning an initial yellow card shown to Bellingham and booking the Atlético defender instead.
Lee’s challenge on Valverde did not result in a booking.
Mourinho questions referee and VAR appointments
The match remained goalless until early in the second half, when Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen brought down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area.
The referee awarded a penalty and initially showed Huijsen a yellow card before upgrading it to red following a VAR review.
Alejandro Grimaldo converted the penalty in the 53rd minute, and Jonathan David doubled Atlético’s advantage six minutes later. Antonio Rüdiger scored Real Madrid’s only goal in the closing stages.
Mourinho also questioned the appointment of Ortiz Arias, referring to the referee’s age and lack of international experience.
He criticized VAR official Trujillo Suárez, arguing that the video assistant had intervened in some incidents while failing to recommend a review of Lee’s challenge.
The Real Madrid coach questioned the refereeing appointments process but stopped short of claiming that the outcome had been deliberately arranged. He said he wanted to believe the officials had made mistakes.
Simeone responds to Mourinho’s criticism
Atlético coach Diego Simeone responded by calling for restraint and respect in public comments about refereeing.
He defended his team’s performance, saying Atlético had controlled the match both before and after Real Madrid were reduced to 10 players.
The result moved Atlético into second place in LaLiga with 16 points, five behind leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid dropped to third with 15 points, leaving Mourinho’s side six points off the top following their second league defeat of the season.
