Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday (Sep 20). The contest was goalless at half-time, but the game changed after the break when Dean Huijsen was sent off and Atletico Madrid took advantage of their numerical superiority.
Following the defeat, Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid strongly criticised the refereeing, with the club releasing an official statement questioning several decisions made by referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias.
Real Madrid Release Official Statement Against Refereeing
“Real Madrid lost the derby at the Metropolitano in a match marked by Ortiz Arias’ very terrible refereeing,” the statement began.
Elaborating on the decisions of the referee that went against the team, Real Madrid called out the decisions not to send off Cristian Romero or Kang In Lee.
“He failed to send off Cuti Romero in the first half for stepping on Bellingham’s knee (despite going to the monitor to review the incident), nor did he send off Kang-In Lee for stepping on Valverde’s left ankle.”
Concluding their statement, the club stated,
“Both decisions had an impact on the match, which was ultimately decided in Atlético’s favor in the second half.”
Jose Mourinho Hits Back At Refereeing Body
Real Madrid manager Mourinho also voiced his frustration during his post-match press conference. Mourinho displayed images of the two incidents involving Romero and Kang-In Lee and argued that both should have resulted in red cards. He said the situation would have been completely different had Real Madrid played the majority of the second half against nine Atletico players.
Mourinho also questioned the decision of the refereeing appointments committee to select Ortiz Arias for the derby. He expressed his frustration over the timing of the appointment and raised concerns about the handling of the match’s major incidents.
Dean Huijsen Sent Off As Atletico Madrid Take Control
Real Madrid eventually found themselves down to ten men in the 50th minute when Huijsen was sent off following a VAR review after conceding a penalty for a foul on Giuliano Simeone. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the spot-kick to put Atletico Madrid ahead.
Jonathan David doubled Atletico’s advantage in the 59th minute. Antonio Rudiger pulled one back for Real Madrid in the 89th minute, but Mourinho’s side could not find an equaliser as Atletico secured a 2-1 victory.