Jose Mourinho was back to his old self, criticising the match officials after 10-man Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
The Real Madrid manager arrived at his post-match press conference carrying printed photographs, insisting there were ‘two clear red cards’ that should have been shown to Atletico players. Mourinho spent nearly five minutes over what he described as ‘strange’ decisions affecting his team this season and during previous campaigns.
“We could skip the news conference, because the story of the match is right here (in the photos). 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 said.
Mourinho and Real Madrid argued that Atletico’s Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in deserved red cards for fouls on Real Madrid players. Madrid played almost the entire second half a man down following Dean Huijsen’s 52nd-minute sending off. Atletico scored in the 53rd and 59th minutes to move above Real Madrid in the league table.
Mourinho questions referee’s decisions
Mourinho expressed disapproval over the appointment of referee Ortiz Arias for the Madrid derby, suggesting that ‘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. 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.” Mourinho said.
Mourinho added that he had maintained a calmer demeanour during his second spell at Madrid until this fixture.
Responding to the comments, Atletico manager Diego Simeone said that fellow managers should maintain professionalism.
“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.
With this win, Atletico Madrid move to second place in the La Liga table, while Real drop down to third, with Barcelona on top with an unbeaten start to the season.
(With input from AP)
