Madrid’s derby night at the Riyadh Metropolitano ended with Atlético de Madrid taking the points from Real Madrid in LaLiga’s eighth round, but José Mourinho left the stadium focused on the officiating rather than the result. The Portuguese coach said Dean Huijsen’s dismissal had left his side facing an uphill task and questioned both the referee appointment and the VAR involvement.
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Atlético prevailed at home after a long contest, with Real Madrid reduced to 10 men following Huijsen’s red card. Mourinho said the numerical disadvantage shaped the match and praised his players for their response under pressure.
“After playing with 10 against 11, it is easy to imagine what 50 minutes with nine against 11 would have meant,” Mourinho said. “All I can do is embrace my players because they gave everything. We produced a first half full of quality and character, and we could absolutely have gone on to win after the break.”
The Real Madrid manager described the circumstances around the match as unusual, arguing that the officials had been known a week before the derby rather than being announced 24 hours in advance. He said Atlético supporters had reason to celebrate, but added that the refereeing appointments committee would also be pleased with the outcome.
Mourinho stopped short of alleging that the decisions had been planned. Instead, he said he preferred to believe that errors had been made, comparing refereeing mistakes with those made by coaches and footballers.
He was particularly critical of the choice of a 41-year-old referee whom he said had not previously worked an occasion of this scale, as well as the VAR official, whom Mourinho claimed had a notable record in matches involving Madrid.
“Let us compete on equal terms and there is still a long way to go,” he said. “I do not want to say this was prepared, because I do not want to think that way. I would rather believe the appointments committee has made a mistake.”
A growing disciplinary complaint
Mourinho also placed the derby dismissal in the context of what he sees as a difficult opening to his first three months in charge. He said Real Madrid have received four red cards across two league matches: two against Elche, a game Madrid still won, followed by two more in the Atlético fixture.
“That makes things much harder,” Mourinho said, returning to his concerns about the officials selected for the matches.
He ended by referring to the Negreira case, questioning whether the competition could still be considered untouched by that controversy if the former official was no longer involved. For Madrid, the immediate reality is simpler: Atlético have claimed the derby at the Metropolitano, while Mourinho’s attention has shifted towards the next refereeing appointments and the disciplinary cost already incurred in the early weeks of the campaign.
