Atletico Madrid responds to Mourinho’s referee criticism after derby defeat
A fiery post-match press conference and dueling social media campaigns have turned a 2-1 La Liga derby into Spanish football's latest officiating saga
Jose Mourinho lost a Madrid derby on Sunday. Then he lost the post-match press conference, too, at least according to Atletico Madrid.
Atletico secured a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium on September 20, with goals from Alex Grimaldo (penalty) and Jonathan David overcoming Antonio Rudiger’s strike for the visitors.
Mourinho pulls out the receipts
In a move that was vintage Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager arrived at his post-match press conference armed with printouts. His target was referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias, whom Mourinho criticized for lacking international experience. The Portuguese manager highlighted two specific tackles by Atletico players that he argued were “clear red cards,” using his printed evidence to make the case that the officiating had directly influenced the result.
Real Madrid’s official report echoed the sentiment, attributing the defeat to what it described as “poor officiating” by Ortiz Arias. The club’s frustration was compounded by the fact that they played the entire second half with 10 men after Dean Huijsen received a red card.
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Atletico fires back with a hashtag
Atletico’s official channels launched a counter-campaign using the hashtag #StopAcosoArbitralYA, which translates roughly to “Stop Referee Harassment Now.” Atletico’s posts on the subject racked up over two million views within hours on September 21.
Diego Simeone, Atletico’s manager, struck a notably different tone from his club’s social media team. Rather than escalating the war of words, he took aim at the broader culture of managerial complaints about officiating.
“No matter whether your name is Mourinho, Simeone or Flick, not everything goes… we have to be careful about what we say.”
The referee committee weighs in
The Spanish referees’ committee later acknowledged at least one officiating error during the match. For Mourinho, the acknowledgment validated his complaints. For Atletico, it didn’t change the scoreline.