Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho expressed his dissatisfaction with the officiating following his team's 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga's Madrid derby. During a press conference, Mourinho displayed images of two tackles he believed warranted red cards, specifically criticizing the lack of action taken against Atletico defender Cristian Romero for a stamp on Jude Bellingham and a challenge by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde.
Valverde, who finished the match, was later diagnosed with severe trauma to his left ankle and will undergo further tests, according to a club statement. Mourinho stated, "We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," while holding up the images. He added, "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 a foul on Giuliano Simeone, leading to a penalty converted by Alejandro Grimaldo. Jonathan David extended Atletico's lead before Antonio Ruediger scored for Real late in the match.
Mourinho criticized referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias, stating, "They’ve put a referee, aged 41, with no international experience – it’s certainly not because he’s a great referee. Then the poor chap has come here and hasn’t been able to cope with the pressure."
In response to being six points behind Barcelona, Mourinho remarked, "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. 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."
Atletico manager Diego Simeone responded to Mourinho's comments by emphasizing the need for restraint, stating, "Whoever is speaking – be it me, Mourinho, Hansi Flick or Manuel Pellegrini, anyone – we have to be careful what we say. When you step outside the bounds of respect, whoever you are, it’s not on. You can’t cross that line." Simeone chose to focus on Atletico's performance, saying, "Today we saw a great match; we defended very well against a team that plays very well." Atletico Madrid moved to second place in the standings with 16 points, five behind leaders Barcelona and one ahead of Real Madrid and Real Betis.