José Mourinho did not hide his anger after Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat to Atlético de Madrid in the derby. The Portuguese coach focused much of his post-match press conference on the refereeing decisions and described everything surrounding the officials' performance as "very strange."
Mourinho Explodes Over Refereeing and Lashes Out at LaLiga
José Mourinho strongly criticized the refereeing after Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Atlético de Madrid.
The coach even showed two images to the media to argue that there should have been two red cards during the match. The first involved a challenge from Cuti Romero on Jude Bellingham, while the second involved Kang-in Lee and Fede Valverde.
"They are two clear red cards," Mourinho said, arguing that the match would have unfolded very differently if Atlético de Madrid had been reduced to nine players.
Mourinho Questions Referee Appointment
The Portuguese coach also directed his criticism at the Technical Committee of Referees over the decision to appoint Miguel Ángel Ortiz for the derby. Mourinho pointed to the referee's lack of experience in matches of this magnitude and also questioned the performance of the VAR officials.
In particular, he mentioned Daniel Jesús Trujillo, who was responsible for VAR, after he intervened in one of the controversial incidents but not the other.
"This gentleman has a very extensive history as a VAR referee in Real Madrid matches," the coach said before sarcastically congratulating the committee responsible for referee appointments.
"I Thought I Was Going to Find a Different League"
Mourinho's criticism did not end with the derby. The coach recalled other recent refereeing decisions in LaLiga and said he expected to find a different environment upon his return to Spanish soccer.
"I thought I was going to find a different league, but it turns out I haven't," he said.
Despite his frustration, Mourinho stopped short of claiming that the decisions had been deliberately made against his team, saying he preferred to believe they were refereeing mistakes.
The Portuguese coach also declined to directly assess Dean Huijsen's sending-off following the incident involving Giuliano Simeone, explaining that he had not seen a clear enough replay.
Finally, Mourinho backed his players after a defeat that leaves Real Madrid six points behind league leaders Barcelona. The coach insisted he had nothing to criticize his players for and called for his team to be allowed to compete "under equal circumstances" for the remainder of the season.
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix
Real Madrid CF
