Mourinho Slams Refereeing Committee After Defeat in Madrid Derby

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has expressed his anger at the Spanish refereeing committee after losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in a thrilling Madrid derby in Spanish La Liga.

Mourinho’s side have slipped to third in the league table after their stumble at the Metropolitano Stadium, six points behind unbeaten leaders Barcelona.

Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in, respectively, fouled Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde in the first half of the match. Mourinho expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the decisions for these two fouls, insisting that the decisions should have been ‘red cards’.

At the start of the second half, Real Madrid were reduced to 10 men. Dejan Huissen was sent off after fouling Giuliano Simeone in the box and giving away a penalty.

“We could have gone on without this press conference because the main story of the match is in the pictures on this paper. Those were two clear red cards,” Mourinho told reporters, holding up a printed sheet of paper with pictures of the controversial fouls.

Mourinho claimed that referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias failed to cope with the atmosphere and pressure at the Metropolitano Stadium. At the same time, he blamed the Spanish refereeing committee, the CTA, and said, “The ones who should be really happy are the referee selection committee. Because everything was very strange. They sent a referee who, at 41 years old, has no experience of refereeing an international match. So it is clear that he was not brought to this position based on his skills.”

Mourinho also questioned the role of VAR referee Daniel Jesus Trujillo, who he said had an “old history” with Real Madrid.

The experienced Portuguese coach added, ‘This strange combination… a weak referee, who has only officiated minor matches, with a VAR official with a long controversial history—the referee selection committee should really be congratulated!’

However, he said he “didn’t see” the incident of his player Deyan Huisen’s red card.

It is worth noting that Real Madrid officially complained to the Spanish Football Federation about the quality of refereeing in February 2025. At the time, the club described the entire system as ‘biased’ and ‘worthy of complete loss of confidence’. Even Real Madrid’s own TV channel regularly criticizes Spanish refereeing.

Mourinho expressed satisfaction with his side’s performance despite Real Madrid failing to create any notable chances in a lacklustre first half against Atletico.

“They played with great quality and personality in the first half,” said the 65-year-old experienced coach.

Mourinho believes they are still well in the running to win the Spanish title if the refereeing is impartial. “If they allow us to be in peace and compete on an equal footing with everyone, there is still a long way to go in the season,” he said.