Mourinho admits Mbappe penalty for Real Madrid against Racing Santander was wrong

Jose Mourinho conceded that the penalty awarded to Real Madrid after Kylian Mbappe went down following a challenge from Brati against Racing Santander should not have been given.

Real Madrid won the match 3-0, with Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande on the scoresheet.

Speaking at his post-match news conference, Mourinho said he had been unable to judge the incident in real time because he was 60 metres away from the play.

“When the referee awarded the penalty to Mbappe, I was very calm because I was 60 metres away and could not see the incident,” he said. “But after watching it again, I said that if the video assistant referee was not asleep, then it was not a penalty.”

Mourinho praised the referee’s overall performance but maintained that the decision was clearly incorrect.

“Technically, the referee was very good. He showed two yellow cards in a difficult and physical game, but for me it was obvious that it was not a penalty,” he added.

The Real Madrid manager also discussed the reaction of Racing Santander’s players to the referee’s decisions, saying they had challenged almost every call during the game.

“My view is that they protested everything,” he said. “It is a stadium I like very much, and I also like their supporters. They have this character and this way of playing matches.”

“They do not come to the stadium simply to watch a show. They take part, they play, and they create an atmosphere that is extremely difficult for opponents.”

Mourinho also referred to another disputed incident in the second half, suggesting that emotion and a lack of understanding of the rules had influenced some reactions.

“There is also the factor that people deal with the match emotionally, and many do not know the rules,” he said.

“There are many rules that keep changing in small details, and people do not know that Chouameni’s handball after the ball had rebounded is never a penalty.”

The victory moved Real Madrid to 27 points in third place, while Racing Santander remained on 11 points in 16th.

Mbappe has now scored 18 penalties in the competition. No player has scored more penalty goals than him since the 2024-2025 season, with Ante Budimir also on 18.

The France forward has scored against all 24 opponents he has faced in La Liga, scoring 68 goals in total.

Real Madrid scored three times in the first half of an away La Liga match for the first time since May 2024, when they scored four against Villarreal at La Ceramica.

The previous time Real Madrid had achieved the feat under Mourinho in La Liga was in January 2013 against Valencia at Mestalla, when they scored five first-half goals.

Bellingham’s goal was his 50th for Real Madrid in all competitions, reached in his 154th appearance for the club. He became the 50th player in the club’s history to reach that total and is the only English midfielder to have scored 50 La Liga goals since joining Real Madrid in the 2023-2024 season.