Jose Mourinho accused the referee and VAR of failing Real Madrid after their 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid, claiming two Atletico players should have been sent off in the first half.
Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference with photographs of Cristian Romero’s challenge on Jude Bellingham and Lee Kang-in’s tackle on Federico Valverde. Romero was booked after appearing to tread on Bellingham’s knee, while Lee was not punished for his challenge on Valverde.
“The story of the game is here,” Mourinho said, holding up the images. “They’re two clear red cards.”
Real Madrid were later reduced to 10 men when Dean Huijsen was sent off for bringing down Giuliano Simeone. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty before Jonathan David doubled Atletico’s lead. Antonio Rüdiger scored late for Madrid, who fell to fourth in La Liga and are now six points behind leaders Barcelona after seven matches.
Mourinho questioned why Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias had been appointed to referee the derby and criticised VAR official Daniel Trujillo Suarez.
“It’s the CTA [the referees’ committee],” Mourinho said. “It’s all been very strange. It’s a referee [Ortiz Arias] who, at 41, doesn’t have international experience. I don’t know why he was the referee. The poor guy came here and couldn’t cope with the pressure.”
He added: “That combination – a poor referee, who’s only done small games, and a VAR with a big history. Congratulations to the CTA.”
Un pésimo arbitraje decide el derbi.https://t.co/KeLAm0Ao9B
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 20, 2026
Mourinho also linked the incidents to decisions in recent matches involving Real Madrid’s title rivals. He cited Atletico’s penalty against Real Sociedad and decisions involving Barcelona as examples of what he believes has been inconsistent officiating.
“I thought I’d find a different league to the one I left [in 2013], and people told me no, and they explained why. But we’ll fight,” Mourinho said.
Real Madrid said Valverde suffered “severe trauma to his left ankle” following Lee’s challenge. The midfielder is due to undergo further tests to determine the extent of the injury.
Mourinho said he had not yet watched a replay of Huijsen’s dismissal and stopped short of claiming the refereeing decisions were deliberate.
“I don’t want to say this was prepared. I want to think they’re mistakes, like a coach makes mistakes,” he said. “They made a mistake, that’s all.”
Atletico’s manager, Diego Simeone, declined to engage with Mourinho’s assessment of the officials.
“We’re always respectful of others’ opinions,” Simeone said. “We’re in a privileged position: Mourinho, Flick, Pellegrini, me. We need to be careful what we say.”
