Jose Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference with printed images of two challenges he believed deserved red cards, while new reports suggest refereeing officials agreed one major decision was wrong.

Mourinho produces two red card images after heated Madrid derby

Jose Mourinho turned his post-match press conference into another major Madrid derby controversy after arriving with printed images of two challenges he believed should have resulted in red cards.

Real Madrid suffered a painful 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

But after the final whistle, Mourinho focused heavily on the refereeing decisions that shaped the match.

He placed two images in front of reporters and described both incidents as clear red-card offences.

Mourinho brings evidence into the press room

Mourinho made his frustration clear from the start of the press conference.

He arrived carrying a sheet showing two controversial first-half incidents involving Atletico players.

The Real Madrid coach said the story of the match could be explained by the images in front of him.

According to Mourinho, Atletico should have been reduced to ten players before half-time.

He believed two separate challenges deserved straight red cards.

Romero challenge on Bellingham causes first controversy

The first incident involved Cristian Romero and Jude Bellingham.

Romero caught Bellingham around the knee area during a challenge in the first half.

Referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias initially made a surprising decision and punished Bellingham.

VAR then asked the referee to review the incident because the wrong player had been identified as the offender.

After watching the replay, the referee removed Bellingham’s punishment and showed Romero a yellow card instead.

Mourinho believed the challenge should have resulted in a red.

Lee Kang-in challenge creates even bigger anger

The second incident involved Lee Kang-in and Federico Valverde.

Lee caught Valverde high around the left ankle during another first-half challenge.

No red card was shown.

VAR also did not ask the referee to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

Mourinho believed this was the clearest red-card decision of the two.

It was also the incident that later received the most attention from Spanish media.

Refereeing officials reportedly believe Lee should have been sent off

According to reports in Spain, people within the Technical Committee of Referees believe Lee’s challenge on Valverde should have resulted in a red card.

The incident has reportedly been viewed as one of the biggest refereeing mistakes of the derby.

However, the same reports suggest officials do not completely agree with Mourinho about the Romero challenge.

That situation was considered more difficult to judge, with the yellow card viewed as a possible decision.

So Mourinho’s complaints have not been fully supported in both incidents.

But his anger over the Lee-Valverde challenge appears to have stronger support.

VAR audio adds another question

The VAR audio from the derby has also created more discussion.

In the Romero-Bellingham incident, VAR contacted the referee mainly because of a possible mistaken identity.

The officials explained that Romero had made the challenge while Bellingham had played the ball.

The referee then changed his decision.

But there was no VAR intervention at all for Lee’s challenge on Valverde.

That is one of the biggest questions Mourinho raised after the match.

Why did VAR become involved in other important incidents but not in the challenge he believed was the most dangerous?

Valverde later suffers ankle injury

The controversy became even more serious after Real Madrid released a medical update on Valverde.

The club confirmed that the midfielder suffered severe trauma to his left ankle.

Further tests were needed to understand the full damage.

The injury was connected to the same challenge from Lee Kang-in that Mourinho highlighted during his press conference.

However, an injury does not automatically mean a challenge must result in a red card.

The referee must judge the action itself, including the force, contact and danger involved.

Real Madrid also saw Huijsen sent off

The biggest decision against Real Madrid came early in the second half.

Dean Huijsen fouled Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area.

The referee initially awarded a penalty and showed Huijsen a yellow card.

VAR then intervened.

After reviewing the incident, the referee changed the yellow card to a straight red.

The explanation was that Huijsen had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity without making a realistic attempt to play the ball.

Atletico scored the penalty and later took control of the match.

Mourinho questions VAR consistency

This was the main issue for Mourinho.

VAR intervened to increase Huijsen’s punishment.

It also became involved in the Romero-Bellingham incident.

But it did not intervene for Lee’s challenge on Valverde.

For Mourinho, that difference in treatment was difficult to understand.

He argued that Real Madrid were punished strongly while Atletico escaped serious punishment for dangerous challenges.

Mourinho also questions referee appointment

Mourinho then raised another issue about the derby.

He said he had been told that referee appointments are normally known around 24 hours before matches.

But according to the Real Madrid coach, Ortiz Arias’ appointment for the derby was known around a week earlier.

Mourinho described the situation as very strange.

He also questioned whether a referee without FIFA international status should have been given such a high-pressure derby.

However, there is currently no evidence that the appointment process involved any wrongdoing.

Mourinho stops short of making a bigger accusation

Despite his anger, Mourinho did not directly claim that the derby had been prepared against Real Madrid.

He said he did not want to believe that was the case.

Instead, he said he preferred to believe that the controversial decisions were refereeing mistakes.

That distinction is important because his comments raised questions without presenting proof of a wider plan against his team.

Simeone responds after the match

Diego Simeone later responded to Mourinho’s comments.

The Atletico coach did not focus on whether the two incidents deserved red cards.

Instead, he spoke about the importance of respecting referees.

Simeone said coaches must be careful not to cross the line when discussing match officials.

That added another layer to an already heated derby.

The Madrid derby controversy is far from over

Real Madrid lost the match 2-1.

Huijsen was sent off.

Valverde left with an ankle injury.

And Mourinho arrived at his press conference with two images he believed proved Atletico should also have received red cards.

The latest reports suggest he may have had a strong case in at least one of those incidents.

But the debate is now bigger than one challenge.

It is about VAR consistency, referee decisions and how major incidents are judged in the biggest matches.

For Mourinho, the images told the story.

For the refereeing authorities, the explanation may be more complicated.

Either way, the Madrid derby is still being discussed long after the final whistle.