Jose Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference with something unusual in hand: printed images of the incidents he believed should have resulted in red cards during Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.The Real Madrid boss was clearly frustrated by the refereeing decisions and used the photographs to make his case in front of the media. His first example involved Cristian Romero and Jude Bellingham. “We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said while holding up an image of Romero’s challenge on Bellingham.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 The incident occurred as the two players raced towards a loose ball. Bellingham slid to the ground and Romero subsequently stepped on the English midfielder’s knee. Bellingham was initially booked for his involvement, although that decision was overturned following a VAR review. Romero was then cautioned instead.Mourinho was visibly animated on the touchline as he called for Romero to be sent off, but his protests did not change the decision. The Portuguese coach would later see his own side reduced to 10 men when Huijsen was shown a straight red card.That only added to Mourinho’s frustration when another incident went unpunished. Atletico forward Lee Kang-in caught Valverde on the left ankle with his studs while competing for the ball, yet no card was produced.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Real Madrid subsequently reported that Valverde had suffered “severe trauma to his ankle” in the challenge, with further medical examinations scheduled to establish the full extent of the injury. “Those were two clear red cards,” Mourinho said as he presented the photograph of Kang-in’s challenge. “Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against 9 would’ve been like."Despite his anger at the officiating, Mourinho praised his players for the way they continued to fight under difficult circumstances. He also revealed that he had not watched the VAR replay of Huijsen’s dismissal.The Portuguese manager said he preferred to believe the officials had simply made mistakes rather than deliberately overlooked the two controversial challenges. “I want to believe they are mistakes, just as a coach makes mistakes, just as a player makes mistakes,” Mourinho said.Mou and Los Blancos brought to their knees: Atletico rule Madrid!He also questioned the decision to appoint referee Ortiz Arias for such a high-profile encounter. “It’s a referee who at 41 doesn’t have international experience. I don’t know why he was the referee. The poor guy couldn’t cope with the pressure."Real Madrid now sit fourth after seven rounds, leaving Mourinho disappointed with their current position, but he remains convinced that his side can still challenge for the title.“If ‘they leave us in peace, and let us compete on an even playing field, there’s a long way left,” he said.##NAJAVA_MECA_9968865##
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