Mourinho criticises officiating after Real Madrid's derby defeat

Jose Mourinho displayed images of two tackles during his post-match press conference following Real Madrid's 2-1 La Liga loss to Atletico Madrid.

Mourinho expressed his frustration with the officials, particularly over Atletico defender Cristian Romero not being sent off for a stamp on Jude Bellingham. He also raised concerns about a challenge by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde, before Real Madrid were reduced to ten men just five minutes into the second half.

"We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," Mourinho stated, holding up the images as he launched into a nearly five-minute tirade.

"Those were two clear red cards. The difficulties we've faced since the sending-off - 11 against 10 - well, we can imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like if justice had been done."

Real defender Dean Huijsen was sent off for bringing down Giuliano Simeone inside the area as the last defender, allowing Alejandro Grimaldo to score from the penalty spot. Jonathan David doubled Atletico's lead six minutes later, with Antonio Rudiger heading in a free-kick late on to reduce the deficit.

Mourinho remarked that he could only "hug" his players after what he described as a first half "full of class and great character", but he directed sharp criticism at referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias and those who appointed him.

"They've put a referee, aged 41, with no international experience - it's certainly not because he's a great referee," Mourinho remarked.

"Then the poor chap has come here and hasn't been able to cope with the pressure - and it really is intense pressure. I call it '80s-style pressure' here in this stadium, which you hardly ever see these days."

When asked about being six points behind Barcelona, Mourinho gave a pointed response.

"If they just leave us in peace and let us compete on a level playing field with everyone else, we've still got a long way to go," he said.

"I don't want to go so far as to say this was set up... I want to believe that they simply made a mistake."

Real Madrid later released an official match report that echoed Mourinho's sentiments, stating the defeat was "marked by poor officiating".

The La Liga club claimed, "Real Madrid lost at the Metropolitano in a derby marked by the poor officiating of Ortiz Arias, who failed to send off Cuti Romero in the first half for stepping on Jude Bellingham's knee (despite reviewing the play on the monitor) and Kang-In Lee for stepping on Valverde's left ankle. Both decisions shaped the match, which was decided in the second half in favour of Atletico."

They added, "Until the 30th minute, the game had very few dangerous plays. But from that point on, controversy took over the derby. In the 35th minute, during a contested ball, Bellingham got to the ball before Cuti Romero, and the Atletico defender planted his studs into the left knee of the Madrid player. Ortiz Arias initially booked our player but was called by Trujillo Suarez to review the incident on the monitor. After watching the replay, he rescinded the card from Bellingham and issued a yellow card to the Atletico defender instead of sending him off."

The report continued, "Nine minutes later, the referee made another crucial error by not penalising Kang-In Lee for a challenge on Valverde, where he struck him with his studs on the left ankle. Ortiz Arias was close to the incident but did not show a red card (or even a yellow card) to the Atlético player, nor was he alerted by Trujillo Suárez on this occasion."

Source: Sky Sports