Mourinho criticises referee and VAR after Real Madrid lose derby to Atletico

Jose Mourinho accused the referee and VAR of making “strange” decisions after 10-man Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The Real Madrid manager brought photographs to his post-match news conference and claimed Atletico should have received “two clear red cards”. He then spent almost five minutes questioning a series of decisions involving his side this season and in the past.

“We could skip the news conference, because the story of the match is right here [on the photos],” Mourinho said.

“Given the difficulties we faced playing 11 against 10, one can only imagine what it would have been like to play 50 minutes at 11 against nine. So I’ll simply embrace my players.”

Mourinho believed Atletico players Cristian “Cuti” Romero and Lee Kang-in should have been dismissed for strong challenges on Real Madrid players.

Real Madrid played almost the entire second half with 10 men after Dean Huijsen was sent off in the 52nd minute. Atletico scored twice in the next seven minutes, in the 53rd and 59th minutes, to move above Real Madrid in the standings. Real Madrid scored their only goal late in the match.

Mourinho also questioned the appointment of referee Ortiz Arias for the Madrid derby, saying “those who should be happy, aside from the Atletico fans, are those in the refereeing committee”.

“It’s all been very strange. First of all, the referee was known a week before the match, but I’m told that’s usually announced just 24 hours in advance,” he said.

“Then he is a 41-year-old referee who isn’t on the international list, so it can’t be because he’s a great referee. The poor guy came here and couldn’t handle the pressure.”

He was equally critical of the role played by VAR, claiming the video assistant referee had intervened over the first red-card decision but not the second.

“The VAR official called the referee over for the first red card, though I don’t think he did so for the second, which was an even clearer case than the first, and he has quite a track record in the VAR in Real Madrid matches,” Mourinho said.

“Last season alone, there was the Real Sociedad match in the Copa del Rey, and then there was Osasuna and Girona. This is a VAR with a lot of history.”

Mourinho had generally adopted a calmer approach since returning for his second spell at Real Madrid.

“I would have liked to leave here today with a victory, without having to talk about this. I’ve been here for three months now, and I think you’ve all seen that I haven’t usually gone in this direction,” he added.

“Two red cards against Elche and we still won, but two red cards today is a bit more difficult. This combination: a poor referee who has only officiated small games and a VAR official with a long history. Congratulations to the referees’ committee.”

Atletico manager Diego Simeone responded by calling for coaches to maintain respect.

“We all lose sometimes, but you can’t cross the line of respect, regardless if your name is Mourinho, [Hansi] Flick or Simeone,” he said.