Atletico Madrid have pushed back against the complaints made by Real Madrid’s manager, Jose Mourinho, concerning the officiating in the recent derby that took place on Sunday. Mourinho arrived at the post‑match press conference clutching printed sheets that highlighted two specific incidents he believed should have resulted in red cards for Atletico players.
The former Chelsea boss accused the match officials of making pivotal mistakes that, in his view, influenced the 2‑1 defeat suffered by Real Madrid. In response, Atletico took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday with two separate posts. The first post featured a short video that displayed a piece of paper being printed with the phrase "#StopAcosoArbitalYA," which translates to “stop referee harassment now.” The second post showed a still image of Mourinho at the press conference, overlaid with the same hashtag, signaling the club’s displeasure with the manager’s public condemnation of the referee.
During the press conference, Mourinho displayed photographs of the two tackles he deemed worthy of dismissal. He was particularly incensed that Atletico defender Cristian Romero was not sent off after a stamp on Real’s Jude Bellingham. Mourinho also took issue with a challenge by Lee Kang‑in on Federico Valverde, which occurred before Real were reduced to ten men just five minutes after the interval. "We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," Mourinho said, holding up the images as he launched into 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 receive a red card after bringing down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area, allowing Alejandro Grimaldo to convert a low spot‑kick.
Six minutes later, Atletico’s Jonathan David doubled their lead, and Antonio Rudiger later headed in a free‑kick to reduce the deficit for Real. Mourinho, while praising his players for a first half he described as "full of class and great character," directed sharp criticism at referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias and the officials responsible for his appointment.
"They’ve placed a 41‑year‑old referee with no international experience in this match – it’s certainly not because he’s a great referee," Mourinho asserted. "The poor chap has been unable to cope with the pressure – and it’s an intense, almost 80s‑style pressure that you rarely see these days." When asked about Real’s six‑point gap behind Barcelona in the league table, 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 said.
He stopped short of alleging a conspiracy, adding, "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 complaints, describing the defeat as being "marked by poor officiating." The club’s statement claimed that Ortiz Arias failed to send off Cristian Romero in the first half after a studs‑on‑knee challenge on Bellingham, despite reviewing the incident on the monitor. It also alleged that the referee ignored a second dangerous challenge by Lee Kang‑in on Valverde, which involved a studs‑on‑ankle contact. According to the Real Madrid report, the first half was relatively uneventful until the 30th minute, after which controversy began to dominate the proceedings.
At the 35th minute, a contested ball saw Bellingham reach the ball before Romero, only for the Atletico defender to plant his studs into Bellingham’s left knee. Ortiz Arias initially booked Romero but, after being prompted by referee supervisor José María Trujillo Suárez to review the footage, rescinded the card for Bellingham and issued a yellow card to Romero instead of a dismissal.
Nine minutes later, the report claimed another crucial error occurred when Ortiz Arias failed to penalise Lee Kang‑in for a studs‑on‑ankle challenge on Valverde. The referee was allegedly close enough to see the incident but did not issue any card, nor was he alerted by Trujillo Suárez on this occasion. Atletico’s social media campaign, featuring the #StopAcosoArbitalYA hashtag, was intended to highlight what the club perceives as systematic harassment of referees by high‑profile figures.
By posting the printed messages, Atletico sought to frame Mourinho’s outburst as part of a broader pattern of undue pressure on match officials, rather than a legitimate critique of a single decision. The incident has reignited a long‑standing debate in Spanish football about the standards and consistency of refereeing, especially in high‑stakes matches such as the Madrid derby. Critics argue that the league must improve its referee training and oversight mechanisms, while supporters of the officials contend that the pressure of a derby can lead to split‑second decisions that are inevitably scrutinised. In the aftermath, both clubs will likely review the footage and the referee’s performance report.
La Liga’s technical committee may also be called upon to assess whether any disciplinary action is warranted for the officials involved, or whether the incident will prompt a review of the protocols for using video‑assistant referees (VAR) in future matches. As the season progresses, Real Madrid will look to close the gap with Barcelona, while Atletico will aim to build on their recent victory despite the controversy. Both managers have indicated that they will focus on their teams’ performances on the pitch, but the referee saga is expected to linger in the media narrative for weeks to come.
The broader football community continues to watch closely, as the handling of this dispute could set a precedent for how clubs and managers address perceived refereeing errors in the future. Whether the #StopAcosoArbitalYA campaign gains traction beyond this single incident remains to be seen, but it has already sparked a conversation about respect, accountability, and the role of officials in the beautiful game.