Atletico Madrid have won the latest Derbi Madrileno, but two days on, nobody is talking about the players, goals, or managers. Okay, one manager is in the spotlight, as are the referees.And so, a new media war seems to have started – this time between the two powerhouses in the Spanish capital.Everything started shortly after the final whistle, when Jose Mourinho arrived at the post-match press conference with two pieces of paper showing two controversial incidents printed on them – Alex Baena and Lee Kang-in's reckless tackles, which Real Madrid believed should have resulted in red cards but didn't.Mou's show at the presser – brought photos, blasted the refereesInstead, Los Blancos' Dean Huijsen was (rightly) sent off, with his dismissal also resulting in a penalty, that being the key moment of the derby.On top of everything, the latest reports suggest Federico Valverde suffered a relatively serious ankle injury following Lee's challenge and could be out for around a month or even longer.🚨 BREAKING! 😳Federico Valverde was diagnosed with a grade 3 ankle sprain caused by this tackle. 🇺🇾He could be OUT for 2-3 months. 🤕 pic.twitter.com/YpT9GGv1Pn— Polymarket FC (@PolymarketFC) September 22, 2026 Because of all this, tempers were flaring at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid slamming their city rivals, league officials and the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA).And while Los Blancos are fighting a media war against La Liga president Javier Tebas, Atletico have seized the opportunity to respond with a sarcastic jab of their own.Tebas lambasts Real over referee claimsFirst, they criticised Jose Mourinho's behaviour on their social media, sending a loud and clear message: "Stop referee harassment now."However, that wasn't all, as Los Colchoneros also had their say in one of Spain's most renowned outlets, Marca:"There are red lines that cannot be crossed, and they've done it again. You can't be disrespectful."21.00: (1.37) Saudi Arabia (4.40) Kuwait (8.00)"The integrity of Spanish football is in danger. Either we stop them now or there will be no turning back.""They want to play the derby return leg now, with intimidated referees and mistakes in their favor."Nevertheless, Atleti had one more trick up their sleeve, capping their jab at Los Blancos with a sarcastic, eco-themed joke in response to Mourinho's press-conference spectacle.💣🚨 BREAKING – Atlético Madrid with another statement to @marca:"We were thinking of printing out all the refereeing mistakes that Real Madrid have benefited from, but we’d run out of forests. For sustainability reasons, we can’t do it." pic.twitter.com/Gl5BrwKssZ— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 21, 2026 "We were thinking of printing all the mistakes that Madrid has benefited from, but we would run out of forests, we can't do it for sustainability reasons."Now, all that's left is to wait for Real Madrid's answer. They won't let this slide, that's for sure.
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