{"id":3843,"date":"2026-09-21T11:35:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T11:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=3843"},"modified":"2026-09-21T11:35:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T11:35:41","slug":"mourinho-questions-refereeing-after-real-madrid-lose-madrid-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/21\/mourinho-questions-refereeing-after-real-madrid-lose-madrid-derby\/sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourinho questions refereeing after Real Madrid lose Madrid derby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mourinhoref-1789973243515_d-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mourinhoref-1789973243515_d-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mourinhoref-1789973243515_d-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mourinhoref-1789973243515_d-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mourinhoref-1789973243515_d.webp 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jose Mourinho left the Madrid derby with more complaints about refereeing than regret over his Real Madrid players after Atletico Madrid won 2-1 on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Real Madrid coach held up photographs of two first-half challenges during his post-match press conference, arguing that Atletico&#8217;s Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in should both have been sent off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mourinho said the decisions had contributed to a wider pattern of what he believes have been inconsistent calls against his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-21.jpg 678w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-21-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe story of the match is here,\u201d Mourinho said while displaying the images, according to Real Madrid&#8217;s official account. He described the two incidents as clear red-card offences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Romero had been involved in a challenge with Jude Bellingham, while Lee was involved in an incident with Federico Valverde. The referee&#8217;s decisions on both plays became major talking points after the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Real Madrid then found themselves playing with 10 men early in the second half when Dean Huijsen was dismissed for bringing down Giuliano Simeone in the penalty area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting spot kick in the 53rd minute, and Jonathan David added a second goal six minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonio Rudiger headed Real back into contention in the 89th minute, but Atletico held on to move to second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defeat left Mourinho&#8217;s side on 15 points, six behind Barcelona and one behind Atletico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mourinho said he wanted to believe the controversial decisions were mistakes rather than deliberate actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to think they simply made mistakes,\u201d he said, referring to the refereeing decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the result, Mourinho said he had nothing to reproach his players for and maintained that Real Madrid&#8217;s title challenge remained alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jose Mourinho left the Madrid derby with more complaints about refereeing than regret over his Real Madrid players after Atletico Madrid won 2-1 on Sunday. 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