Mourinho demands footage of Arda Guler incident but says he ‘could not find any’

Jose Mourinho says he has been unable to find footage showing why Arda Guler should have been sent off during Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Sevilla.

Sevilla players appealed for a red card after Guler struck Peki Fernandez in the face during the first half of the match at Santiago Bernabeu.

Mourinho said he had asked television broadcasters and analysts to provide images of the incident but had seen nothing to support the controversy surrounding it.

“No-one was able to show me what they say happened,” Mourinho said at his post-match news conference. “I have no images and I was not able to see the incident. I asked for footage from television and the analysts, but I could not find any images of what they are talking about, which made Sevilla angry. I say that with complete honesty.”

The victory came in the ninth round of the league, before Real Madrid’s Clasico against Barcelona on Sunday. Kylian Mbappe scored twice, while Arda Guler and Yan Diomande completed Real Madrid’s scoring. Manuel Sebastian scored Sevilla’s only goal.

Mourinho said he would be willing to acknowledge any decision that had benefited his team if clear evidence emerged.

“If something happens one day that I believe helped us, I will have no problem coming out and admitting it,” he added. “But I think the opposite will happen to us many times, because that is the natural direction of things. If any images appear before the Clasico, I will be happy to watch them.”

Asked about Sevilla manager Luis Garcia Plaza’s view that Guler should have been dismissed, Mourinho replied: “I will not comment on that.”

Real Madrid moved on to 21 points and remain third, while Sevilla stayed on 14 points in sixth place.

Mourinho was also satisfied with his side’s performance and defended the changes he made, which included bringing on Valverde and Diomande.

“We imposed ourselves strongly against a good team and played very well,” he said. “I think it was a great win.”

He added that several players in the squad deserved more opportunities but were not even being used as substitutes.

“There are many players who deserve to play, but they do not feature even from the bench,” Mourinho said. “Today we had greater control of the match, and I think we produced a good performance.”

Diomande provided an assist in consecutive matches in different competitions for the first time in his career in Europe’s major leagues.

At 19 years and 338 days old, he also became the first player under 20 to score and assist in the same Spanish league match for the team during the 21st century. He surpassed the previous record held by Jude Bellingham, who achieved the feat at 20 years and 51 days.