The Aporia · Mourinho blasts referee and VAR after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico

Mourinho blasts referee and VAR after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico

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Azzoni, T. (2026, September 20). Mourinho blasts referee and VAR after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mourinho-blasts-referee-and-var-after-real-madrid-s-2-1-loss-at-atletico/article_db52e893-1ded-59b2-bed7-2c0ed20f3dc0.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

José Mourinho criticized the referee and VAR after Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in a Spanish league match where Real played with ten men for most of the second half. He showed photos during his post-match press conference, claiming two clear red cards were missed by Atletico players. Mourinho also accused the refereeing committee of bias against his team and complained about the referee's experience level and VAR official’s history in handling Madrid matches.

Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid 2-1 in a heated La Liga derby match on September 20 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The match saw Atletico rise to second place with 15 points, trailing Barcelona by five points, while Real Madrid dropped to fourth with 13 points. Early in the second half, Dean Huijsen of Real Madrid was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, leaving his team down to ten men. Despite this disadvantage, Real Madrid managed a late consolation goal from Antonio Rüdiger. Atletico's goals were scored by Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David in the second half.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was highly critical of the officiating post-match, presenting printed photos to media during his press conference to highlight what he believed were missed red cards for Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-In, both from Atletico. Mourinho argued that these missed penalties significantly impacted Real Madrid's performance in the second half when they played a man down nearly the entire time. Despite the loss, Atletico manager Diego Simeone remained content with his team's victory. The controversy over officiating decisions overshadowed much of the post-match discussion. Both teams now face their next league matches after an international break.

Written for “Madrid Derby Controversy” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

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Who wrote this

Tales Azzoni

12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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🔮 “We could skip the news conference, because the story of the match is right here (on the photos),” Mourinho said.

2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Mourinho blasts referee and VAR after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 12 articles by Tales Azzoni →

Topics

Atletico Atletico Madrid MADRID Real Madrid’s Spanish

Subjects

MADRID GPE · 10× Mourinho PERSON · 9× Atletico ORG · 5× Simeone PERSON · 2× Atletico Madrid ORG · 1× Cristian “Cuti” Romero PERSON · 1× José Mourinho PERSON · 1× Lee Kang-in PERSON · 1× Real Madrid’s ORG · 1× Spanish NORP · 1×

Narrative

“The VAR official, he called the referee over for the first red card, though I don’t think he did so for the second, which was an even clearer case than the first, and he has quite a track record in the VAR in Real Madrid matches,” Mourinho asserted.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20

🔮 “We could skip the news conference, because the story of the match is right here (on the photos),” Mourinho said.

2026-09-20 · Toronto Star

Mourinho blasts referee and VAR after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

MADRID (AP) — José Mourinho was back to his old self on Sunday, lashing out at the refereeing following 10-man Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss at Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league. asserted

Mourinho → lash → league

Mourinho took a piece of paper with photos to the post-match news conference, saying there were “two clear red cards” that weren’t shown to Atletico players. asserted

that → take → players

The Madrid coach then spent nearly five minutes complaining of “strange” things that have happened to his team this season and in the past. asserted

that → spend → past

“We could skip the news conference, because the story of the match is right here (on the photos),” Mourinho said. uncertain

Mourinho → skip → photos

“Given the difficulties we faced playing 11 against 10, one can only imagine what it would have been like to play 50 minutes at 11 against nine. asserted

it → give → nine

So I’ll simply embrace my players.” asserted

I → embrace → players

Mourinho and Madrid wanted red cards for Atletico’s Cristian “Cuti” Romero and Lee Kang-in for hard fouls on Madrid players. asserted

Mourinho → want → players

Madrid ended playing nearly all of the second half with 10 men after Dean Huijsen was sent off in the 52nd minute. asserted

Huijsen → end → minute

Atletico scored in the 53rd and 59th minutes to move past Madrid in the standings. asserted

Atletico → score → standings

Madrid’s lone goal came late. asserted

goal → come → ?

He said “those who should be happy, aside from the Atletico fans, are those in the refereeing committee.” asserted

who → say → committee

“It’s all been very strange,” Mourinho said. asserted

Mourinho → say → ?

“First of all, the referee was known a week before the match, but I’m told that’s usually announced just 24 hours in advance. asserted

that → know → advance

Then he is a 41-year-old referee who isn’t on the international list, so it can’t be because he’s a great referee. asserted

he → ’ → list

The poor guy came here and couldn’t handle the pressure.” asserted

guy → come → pressure

Mourinho also didn’t like how VAR allegedly acted against Madrid. uncertain

VAR → like → Madrid

Mourinho → call → matches

Until now, the veteran and often outspoken coach had been showing a calmer version of himself after returning for his second stint with Madrid. asserted

veteran → show → Madrid

“I would have liked to leave here today with a victory, without having to talk about this. asserted

I → like → this

I’ve been here for three months now, and I think you’ve all seen that I haven’t usually gone in this direction,” Mourinho said. asserted

Mourinho → think → direction

“Two red cards against Elche and we still won, but two red cards today is a bit more difficult. asserted

cards → win → Elche

This combination: a poor referee who has only officiated small games and a VAR official with a long history. asserted

who → officiate → history

Atletico coach Diego Simeone called for respect from coaches while reacting to Mourinho’s comments. asserted

Simeone → call → comments

“We all lose sometimes,” Simeone said, “but you can’t cross the line of respect, regardless if your name is Mourinho, (Hansi) Flick or Simeone.” asserted

name → lose → respect