Real Madrid blast 'catastrophic' refereeing after 2-1 derby defeat to Atletico

Real Madrid have publicly condemned the refereeing of Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias following their 2-1 La Liga defeat to Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano on Sunday, releasing a formal statement that described several key decisions as “catastrophic”.

Alejandro Grimaldo converted a second-half penalty to open the scoring after Dean Huijsen was sent off for fouling Giuliano Simeone, with Jonathan David doubling Atletico’s lead shortly after. Antonio Rüdiger headed a late consolation from a free kick, but the result leaves Real Madrid fourth in the La Liga table.

In their statement, the club argued that the match was fundamentally shaped by two incidents Ortiz Arias failed to punish. In the 35th minute, Cuti Romero planted his studs into Jude Bellingham’s left knee; the referee reviewed the incident on the monitor but issued only a yellow card to the Atletico defender rather than a red. Nine minutes later, Kang-In Lee caught Federico Valverde on the left ankle with his studs, and on that occasion no card of any colour was shown.

“Both decisions shaped the match, which was decided in the second half in favour of Atletico,” the statement read. Real Madrid argued that had either player been dismissed, the dynamic of the game would have been entirely different before Huijsen’s sending-off in the 50th minute.

The club’s account of the Huijsen red card was notably precise: Ortiz Arias initially showed a yellow for the foul on Giuliano Simeone before being directed to the monitor by VAR official Trujillo Suarez, at which point he upgraded the decision to a straight red. Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty to make it 1-0.

Real Madrid also noted a 76th-minute one-on-one opportunity for Diomande that Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved, before Rüdiger’s 89th-minute header gave the visitors a platform for a late push that ultimately came to nothing.

Jose Mourinho, whose side were unable to force an equaliser in the closing stages, was also reported to be furious with the officiating, though the club’s formal statement represented the most structured and detailed expression of that anger. The defeat is a significant blow to Real Madrid’s title ambitions, dropping them to fourth in the standings.