Jose Mourinho criticises referee after Real Madrid lose Madrid derby to Atletico

Jose Mourinho accused the referee of failing to cope with the pressure of the Madrid derby after Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

The seventh-round match at Riyadh Air Metropolitano was marked by controversy, with Real Madrid claiming two Atletico players should have been sent off.

“The referee did not have enough experience to manage the derby,” Real Madrid manager Mourinho said after the game. “He is only 41 and, poor man, he could not deal with the pressure. He is a modest referee who has only handled small matches. Congratulations to the refereeing committee on this appointment.

“As for the video assistant referee, Simon Trujillo, he has a long history with Real Madrid in cup matches against Girona and Osasuna. He is a VAR with a lot of history.”

Mourinho said Atletico should have been reduced to nine men.

“There were two clear red cards for Atletico Madrid,” he added. “We saw the difficulties we faced while playing with 10 against 11. Imagine the difficulties they would have faced with 11 against nine.”

The Portuguese manager praised his players but continued to question the officials’ decisions.

“All I can do is embrace my players, who gave everything,” he said. “They played the first half at the highest level and with real character, and we could easily have settled the match in the second half.

“We might say the poor referee could not deal with the pressure, but the VAR has a lot of experience and was not under any pressure.”

Mourinho said he had hoped to leave with a victory, but would otherwise have preferred not to discuss refereeing.

“I have been here for three months and I am not focused on refereeing,” he said. “But there were two red cards against Elche, although we won, and two more today. It is becoming a little more difficult. Congratulations to the refereeing committee.”

Asked about a possible dismissal for Huijsen, Mourinho said he had not yet seen the incident clearly.

“I admit I have not watched it yet and he was too far away from me for me to judge,” he said. “Some people tell me the foul started outside the penalty area. If that is the case, it should be a foul and a red card, with the score 0-0.

“If it was inside the area, it is a penalty. If there was a clear shirt pull, then yes, it would be a red card. But all of that concerns the second half. In the first half, we are talking about a derby that should have been played 11 against nine. There are no miracles in football. We can imagine how the match might have finished, but honestly, I have not watched the Huijsen incident yet.”

Real Madrid are now third, six points behind leaders Barcelona.

Mourinho said the title race remained open, despite the defeat.

“Of course we want to finish first and we want more points,” he said. “But in normal circumstances, as we always say, it is not about how you start but how you finish. It is still the end of September and there is a lot of time, but I do not want to go down this road again.”

He added: “I thought I would find the league different from the one I left, but they told me it was not, and explained why it was not different.”

Mourinho said his players had been affected by circumstances during the match, but insisted he remained positive about the team.

“What our players feel on the pitch is not normal,” he said. “But I liked my team in the first half and in the second as well, although it was extremely difficult. It was hard to keep the ball and stop a good team from having possession, especially with an extra player. Despite the negative result, my feeling is positive.”

He said he hoped the refereeing committee had simply made a mistake.

“If they leave us alone and allow us to compete on equal terms with everyone, there is still a long way to go,” he said. “I do not want to say the situation is deliberate, and I do not want to think in that way. I want to believe they were simply confused, just as a manager or player can make a mistake. I want to believe the refereeing committee made a mistake.”

Asked whether La Liga had been tainted by the Negreira case, Mourinho replied: “Negreira is not here any more, is he? So the league is not tainted by that case.”