Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano following a series of contentious officiating decisions. manager Jose Mourinho responded to the loss by presenting printed photographic evidence to challenge the performance of referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias.
The unpunished challenges on Bellingham and Valverde
Real Madrid players were subjected to two dangerous tackles that Mourinho argues warranted immediate red cards . According to the report, Cristian Romero's follow-through on Jude Bellingham's knee resulted in only a yellow card after a VAR review by Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez in the 35th minute. Shortly after, Lee Kang-in's challenge on Federico Valverde's ankle went entirely unpunished, a decision that fueled the club's official condemnation of the match's officiating.
The lack of disciplinary action for these specific incidents became a focal point of the post-match fallout.. While the referee eventually cautioned Romero for the collision with Bellingham, the club maintains that the severity of the "nailing his cleats in" motion should have resulted in an ejection.
Mourinho’s printed photographic evidence against Ortiz Arias
Jose Mourinho utilized printed images during his postgame press conference to visually demonstrate the severity of the fouls. The Real Madrid manager argued that the visual evidence proved the challenges were clear red card offenses. As the report notes, Mourinho's frustration extended to the experience level of the 41-year-old referee, suggesting that Ortiz Arias was unable to handle what the manager described as the "pressure of the '80s."
Mourinho's critique was not limited to the on-field decisions; he also targeted the VAR official, Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez. The manager suggested that while the VAR was involved in the first incident, the second, even clearer challenge involving Lee Kang-in was inexplicably ignored.
The disadvantage of playing 11 against 10 at the Metropolitano
The match's momentum shifted significantly when Dean Huijsen was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity on Giuliano Simeone. This dismissal left Real Madrid playing with 10 men, a disadvantage that Mourinho claimed made the match's outcome feel predetermined by poor decision-making. The manager noted that playing with a man down for much of the second half created an impossible environment for his squad.
This numerical disadvantage, combined with the perceived officiating bias, left the Real Madrid camp feeling tarrgeted. The club's official statement, released less than an hour after the final whistle, condemned the "terrible refereeing" that defined the evening.
Why was the referee announced a week before kickoff?
Several procedural irregularities have been raised following the heated encounter at the Metropolitano. Mourinho claimed that the appointment of Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias was known a full week before the match, contradicting the standard practice of announcing officials 24 hours in advance. It remains unclear whether this early disclosure influenced the match environment or if there is a formal explanation for the deviation from standard protocol.
Beyond the timing of the announcement, the discrepancy between the VAR's intervention in the Romero incident and its perceived inaction in the Lee Kang-in tackle remains a point of intense scrutiny. The club has yet to receive a formal response regarding these specific procedural concerns.
Comments 0