Atletico Madrid have pushed back against the complaints raised by Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho regarding the officiating in Sunday’s derby. Mourinho arrived at the post‑match press conference armed with printed sheets that highlighted two moments he believed should have resulted in red cards for Atletico players.
The former Chelsea boss accused the referee of making decisive mistakes that, in his view, cost Real the game, which ended 2-1 in favour of the hosts. In the days following the match, Atletico took to its X (formerly Twitter) account to launch a small campaign against what they termed "referee harassment".
The first post featured a short video of a printer churning out a sheet of paper that read "#StopAcosoArbitalYA", a phrase that translates to "stop referee harassment now". A second post displayed an image of Mourinho at the press conference, again accompanied by the same hashtag, signalling the club’s displeasure with the manager’s public accusations.
During the press conference, Mourinho displayed photographs of the two tackles he felt warranted dismissals. He was particularly incensed that Atletico centre‑back Cristian Romero was not sent off after a stamp on Real’s Jude Bellingham.
He also took issue with a challenge by Lee Kang‑in on Federico Valverde, which occurred shortly after Real were reduced to ten men following a red card five minutes after the break. "We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," Mourinho said, holding up the images as he launched a near five‑minute tirade. "Those were two clear red cards. The difficulties we faced after the sending‑off – eleven against ten – we can only imagine what fifty minutes of eleven against nine would have looked like if justice had been done." The match itself saw Real defender Dean Huijsen sent off for bringing down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area, allowing Alejandro Grimaldo to convert a low spot‑kick.
Six minutes later, Jonathan David doubled Atletico’s lead, and Antonio Rudiger headed in a late free‑kick to narrow the gap for Real. Mourinho, while praising his own players for what he described as a first‑half display of "class and great character", turned his ire towards referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias and the officials responsible for his appointment. "They have placed a 41‑year‑old referee with no international experience on this match – it is certainly not because he is a great referee," Mourinho asserted. "The poor man has been unable to cope with the pressure – and it is intense pressure.
I call it '80s‑style pressure' here in this stadium, something you rarely see these days." When asked about Real’s six‑point deficit behind Barcelona in the league, Mourinho offered a pointed response: "If they just leave us in peace and let us compete on a level playing field with everyone else, we still have a long way to go." He stopped short of suggesting any conspiracy, saying, "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 also issued an official match report after full‑time that echoed many of Mourinho’s concerns. The club described the defeat as "marked by poor officiating" and singled out Ortiz Arias for failing to send off Cristian Romero after a step on Bellingham’s knee, despite a video review on the monitor.
The report further claimed that the referee also missed a clear infraction by Lee Kang‑in on Valverde’s left ankle, an incident that went unpunished even though the referee was reportedly close to the action. According to the Real Madrid statement, the first thirty minutes of the game featured few dangerous moments, but after that point the match became dominated by controversy.
In the 35th minute, a contested ball saw Bellingham reach the ball before Romero, only for the Atletico defender to plant his studs into the Madrid player’s left knee. Ortiz Arias initially booked the Real player but, after being prompted by assistant referee Trujillo Suárez, reviewed the incident on the monitor. The replay led him to rescind the card from Bellingham and issue a yellow card to Romero instead of a dismissal. Nine minutes later, the referee allegedly missed another crucial error, failing to penalise Lee Kang‑in for a studs‑on‑ankle challenge on Valverde.
The report claims Ortiz Arias was close enough to see the incident but did not issue any card, nor was he alerted by the assistant on that occasion. Atletico’s social‑media response, the hashtag campaign, and the club’s own statements suggest a growing frustration within the Spanish football community over perceived inconsistencies in refereeing standards, especially in high‑profile fixtures such as the Madrid derby.
The debate touches on broader issues, including the criteria for appointing referees to top‑flight matches, the role of video‑assistant referees (VAR) in correcting clear errors, and the pressure placed on officials in stadiums with intense atmospheres. Both clubs appear poised to continue their rivalry not just on the pitch but also in the arena of public opinion, each defending its perspective on what transpired. As the season progresses, the spotlight on officiating will likely remain a hot topic, with fans, players, and managers alike demanding greater transparency and consistency from the governing bodies that oversee La Liga’s matches.
In the meantime, Atletico’s campaign against "referee harassment" serves as a reminder that the dialogue surrounding refereeing decisions is far from settled, and that clubs are increasingly willing to use social media platforms to voice their grievances and rally support from their fan bases.