Real Madrid issued a scathing official report targeting referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias, asserting that his decisions directly influenced the club’s 2–1 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the Madrid Derby.
The grievances began in the 35th minute when Jude Bellingham reached the ball ahead of Cuti Romero, only for the Argentine defender to challenge forcefully with his studs into the Real Madrid midfielder’s knee. The referee initially showed a yellow card to the Englishman before being summoned to the VAR monitor by Trujillo Suárez, subsequently rescinding Bellingham’s card and cautioning Romero instead of issuing a red card.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Kang-in Lee committed a heavy tackle on Federico Valverde’s ankle, but the referee issued no card, nor did VAR intervene. The incident subsequently sparked an altercation in the tunnel at halftime, culminating in red cards for one of José Mourinho’s assistants and Atlético’s goalkeeping coach.
In an official statement released after the derby, Real Madrid declared: “Real Madrid lost the derby at the Metropolitano in a match defined by an extremely poor refereeing performance from Ortiz Arias.”
The statement added: “He failed to send off Cuti Romero in the first half after he stamped on Bellingham’s knee, despite going to the monitor to review the incident, nor did he send off Kang-in Lee for his challenge on Valverde’s left ankle. Both decisions impacted a match ultimately decided in Atlético’s favor in the second half.”
The dynamics of the match shifted in the 50th minute when Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen brought down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty box. The referee awarded a penalty and initially showed a yellow card, before being recalled by VAR to upgrade the sanction to a straight red card for Huijsen as the last defender.
