Spanish referees admit errors in Madrid derby after Mourinho criticism

Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the derby sparked widespread controversy over the officiating, with coach Jose Mourinho launching a scathing attack on the Spanish referees committee. Mourinho objected to the appointment of an inexperienced main referee and a VAR official whom he claimed had "a history of bias against Real Madrid."

Real Madrid circles argued that Atletico players Lee Kang-in and Cuti Romero should have been sent off for strong challenges on Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham in the first half. Valverde suffered an injury from Lee Kang-in's tackle and is expected to be sidelined for around three weeks.

Referees committee clarifies officiating errors

According to Spanish daily AS, the Spanish referees committee admitted to several mistakes during the match, most notably the failure to send off Lee Kang-in after his dangerous challenge on Valverde. The committee stated that this was a significant error that affected the course of the game.

Conversely, the committee said the red card shown to Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was "entirely justified" after he pulled Giuliano Simeone's arm inside the penalty area. Regarding Cuti Romero's challenge on Bellingham, the committee found referee Ortiz Arias's decision not to issue a red card was reasonable given the complexity of the incident, though a sending-off could have been considered.

Real Madrid slip in league standings

Real Madrid dropped to third place in La Liga, now six points behind arch-rivals Barcelona at the top of the table, ahead of the international break.