Atletico Madrid Respond to Mourinho’s Refereeing Complaints After Derby Defeat

Atletico Madrid have responded to Jose Mourinho after the Real Madrid manager criticised the refereeing decisions made during Sunday’s Madrid derby, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Atletico.

Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference with printed screenshots of two incidents involving Atletico players that he believed should have resulted in red cards.

The Real Madrid manager presented the images to journalists and argued that his side could have faced the second half against nine Atletico players had the officials made different decisions.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said while displaying the screenshots.

He added that the two incidents were clear red-card situations and suggested that Real Madrid’s task would have been significantly different if Atletico had been reduced to nine players.

Atletico responded on Monday through their official X account, posting a message that appeared to address Mourinho’s criticism and broader complaints about refereeing.

The club first shared an image of a sheet of paper coming out of a printer with the hashtag #StopAcosoArbitralYA, which translates as “stop referee harassment now.”

Atletico later posted an image of Mourinho holding the screenshots during his press conference, again accompanied by the same hashtag.

According to BBC Sport, the club’s post attracted more than two million views on X within two hours, highlighting the significant attention generated by the exchange.

Atletico have previously used their social-media platforms to respond publicly to rival clubs and football-related controversies, including during Barcelona’s reported pursuit of Atletico forward Julian Alvarez.

Mourinho’s criticism followed Real Madrid’s second defeat of the season. The Spanish giants had previously lost 1-0 to Real Betis earlier in September.

Real Madrid’s own match report also criticised the officiating, describing the refereeing performance as “dreadful.”

Atletico head coach Diego Simeone, however, called for restraint and respect when coaches discuss referees and their fellow managers.

Simeone said managers such as Mourinho, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini and himself operate under significant public scrutiny and therefore need to be careful with their comments.

“We have to know how to respect others, the referees, our colleagues,” Simeone said, stressing that there should be limits to criticism.

Meanwhile, Mourinho praised his players for their performance despite the defeat, saying they demonstrated “great class and character” during the first half.

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