José Mourinho did not hold back in his criticism of the refereeing following Real Madrid’s derby defeat at the Metropolitano, questioning several decisions made by Ortiz Arias and VAR official Daniel Jesús Trujillo.

The Real Madrid manager argued that Cuti Romero and Kang-In Lee should both have been sent off for their challenges on Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde respectively, while also questioning the appointment of the referee and VAR official.

On the referee and the two tackles on Bellingham and Valverde that could have been red cards, Mourinho said:

"The referee and the two tackles on Bellingham and Valverde that could have been red cards: "Yes, we could have skipped the press conference because the story of the match is right here. They're two clear red cards. We had a lot of trouble afterwards with one less player, and I have to just hug my players, who played a great first half, full of class and character. Besides Atlético, the people who should be happy are the Appointment Committee. It's all been very strange. A week before, they already knew who the referee was, when normally it's 24 hours before. Then the referee is 41 years old and not an international referee, so he won't be a great referee. Then the poor guy didn't complain about the pressure. And then there's Mr. Trujillo, the VAR official who called him for the first red card, and I don't think for the second, and who has a long and complicated history with Real Madrid. Just last year, Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Girona... Poor referee who's only ever officiated minor matches, and the VAR official who has a long history with Real Madrid. There's no pressure in Las Rozas. Or is there?" "Is there? Congratulations to the Committee.""

Mourinho also referred to other refereeing decisions involving Real Madrid and their rivals, arguing that several incidents have contributed to his concerns over the season.

"It's obvious we want more points and to be top of the league. But it's not how it ends, it's how it finishes. I've already been involved a lot, but some of the things we've seen, like the disallowed goal against Osasuna, are laughable, the penalty in San Sebastián is laughable, the one against Barcelona is laughable, the non-expulsion against Athletic with that guy... It's all accumulated. I thought I was finding a different league than the one I left, they told me no and explained why, but we're going to fight. My players are leaving sad but with a hug from their coach. If we want to remember the Elche game, the first yellow card for Diomande wasn't normal. The first half was very difficult, it could have been nine against eleven, and the second half ended up being ten against eleven for them, but I liked my team's determination more."

Asked whether he believes the league becomes more difficult for Real Madrid because of such refereeing decisions, Mourinho said:

"If they let us compete on equal terms, we will. I don't want to say this was planned, I want to believe they're wrong. That the Committee made a mistake by appointing a 41-year-old referee and another with a history against Real Madrid... Things happen in this stadium that aren't normal. The disallowed goal for Osasuna is a joke, what happened in San Sebastián..."

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