Former referee backs La Liga ban for Ortiz Arias after controversial Madrid derby

A former Portuguese referee has backed the decision to leave Ortiz Arias without a La Liga appointment for at least the next two rounds after he made “incorrect assessments” in three major incidents during Real Madrid’s derby defeat by Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid lost Sunday’s match at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in the seventh round of the season, but the result was overshadowed by the club’s anger over the performance of the Spanish referee, who was officiating the derby for the first time.

The first controversy involved Atletico defender Cristian Romero’s challenge on Jude Bellingham’s knee. Ortiz Arias initially showed Bellingham a yellow card before consulting the video assistant referee and correcting the identity of the player involved. He then booked Romero but did not upgrade the punishment to a red card.

Real midfielder Federico Valverde was involved in the second incident when Kang-in Lee appeared to stamp heavily on his leg. No card was shown.

The third incident came when Real defender Dean Huijsen stopped Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area. Ortiz Arias initially awarded a penalty, but after reviewing the footage he also sent off Huijsen.

Mourinho and Real Madrid criticise officials

Real manager Jose Mourinho criticised the decisions in his post-match news conference, while Real Madrid TV and the club’s official statement also condemned the referee’s performance.

Mourinho brought photographs showing Romero’s challenge on Bellingham and Kang-in Lee’s challenge on Valverde to his press conference.

“Clearly, both fouls deserved red cards,” he said. “The match should have been 11 against nine for 50 minutes, but instead it became 11 against 10 against us.”

He also criticised VAR referee Trujillo, saying: “Mr Trujillo, the VAR, who did not call the referee to review Kang-in Lee’s red-card incident, has a very strange history with Real Madrid.”

Mourinho added that Ortiz Arias “clearly cannot handle the pressure” of matches of this kind.

Real Madrid’s official statement said Ortiz Arias had failed to send off Romero despite reviewing the challenge on Bellingham, and had also failed to dismiss Kang-in Lee for “stamping on Valverde’s left ankle”. The club described both decisions as decisive in a match Atletico eventually won in the second half.

Bruno Paixao, speaking exclusively to Kooora, agreed that the two challenges should have resulted in red cards.

“Atletico’s player made a forceful challenge with his right foot and could have caused a serious knee injury,” he said of Romero’s tackle. “The referee made a mistake. It deserved a red card, not a yellow.”

On the Valverde incident, Paixao said Kang-in Lee’s challenge amounted to serious foul play and that the VAR should have recommended a review.

However, he said the penalty and Huijsen’s red card were correct because the defender held an attacker who was controlling the ball and facing goal.

Spanish reports said the refereeing committee had acknowledged Ortiz Arias’ errors and planned to exclude him from appointments for at least matchdays eight and nine.

Paixao said the sanction was justified, describing it as a normal consequence of failing to meet the performance standards expected in professional sport.

Born in 1974, Paixao began refereeing in 1990 and retired in 2018. He took charge of his first Portuguese top-flight match in 1997, held FIFA international status from 2004 to 2012 and was a UEFA category-one referee during the 2012-13 season. He also worked as an industrial production engineer.