Real Madrid has claimed its 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid was down to a "dreadful refereeing performance" from head official Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias.
Madrid was incensed after it believed Ortiz Arias missed not one, but two Atlético red cards in the first half of the derby on Sunday, Sept. 20.
Those two decisions proved especially vital after Ortiz Arias awarded Atlético a penalty early in the second half, issuing a red card for Madrid's Dead Huijsen for the foul.
Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring from the spot for Atlético, with Jonathan David adding a second for the home side just six minutes later. Antonio Rüdiger pulled a goal back late but it wasn't enough for Madrid, which fell to a bitter defeat against its local rival.
After the match,
Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho opened his press conference by showing two still images of what he felt should have been red cards against Atlético players.
"We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," he said while holding up the pictures.
"Those are two clear red cards."
Jose Mourinho began his press conference with pictures of two fouls committed by Atleti players that he says should have been red cards. pic.twitter.com/JfP6tn1SEC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 20, 2026
In the 35th minute, Atlético defender Cristian Romero and Madrid's Jude Bellingham contested a 50-50 ball, with Bellingham initially given a yellow card for the challenge.
After a VAR review, though, Bellingham's yellow was rescinded and Romero was given a yellow for stepping on Bellingham's knee. But Madrid felt that a yellow was too lenient for the Argentina international.
Jude Bellingham was initially shown a yellow card in a challenge involving Cuti Romero. Officials later determined Romero’s challenge on Bellingham was the foul and issued the yellow card to Romero instead. pic.twitter.com/D4O90yBjGv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 20, 2026
Later in the half, Kang-In Lee put his studs into Federico Valverde's ankle, but the action wasn't penalized at all.
Valverde will now reportedly be sidelined 2-3 weeks with an ankle injury, forcing him to miss international duty with Uruguay.
Real Madrid's official website hit out at the referee after the game, claiming that his "poor officiating" was the difference in the match.
"Real Madrid lost at the Metropolitano in a derby marked by the poor officiating of Ortiz Arias, who failed to send off Cuti Romero in the first half for stepping on Bellingham's knee (despite reviewing the play on the monitor) and Kang-In Lee for stepping on Valverde's left ankle," Madrid said.
Atlético bypassed Madrid in the La Liga table with the win, moving a point above its local rival with a 5W-1D-1L record.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Real Madrid blames 'dreadful refereeing' for derby loss to Atletico
