Real Madrid TV on the derby referee: what a disgrace

Was Real Madrid wronged?

Ortiz Arias found himself at the centre of a storm after the Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atletico. Real Madrid's own channel tore into the referee over his handling of the game, arguing that Cuti Romero's challenge on Jude Bellingham and Kang-in Lee's foul on Federico Valverde both warranted far harsher punishment.

Romero's tackle on Bellingham deserved a straight red, according to the channel, which slammed Ortiz Arias for reaching only for yellow. After watching the replay, it fumed: "What a disgrace.. a yellow card for Romero?".

Valverde's clash with Kang-in Lee drew the same fury. The channel insisted the Atletico man should have walked too, meaning the visitors ought to have finished the match with nine players across the two disputed incidents.

Those decisions fed into a wider grievance. The channel tied them to previous refereeing controversies and launched a scathing attack on the Spanish system, claiming the derby only deepened Real Madrid's simmering discontent with Ortiz Arias.

Before a ball had even been kicked, the channel had already questioned his appointment for the derby. It pointed to what it described as friendly exchanges with Barcelona players after the Catalan side's match against Athletic Bilbao, alongside a failure to punish certain incidents in that game.

Mourinho weighed in on the appointment during his pre-match press conference. "I don't like talking about referees before matches," he said, before expressing surprise that he knew the derby referee's name a full week in advance, insisting this does not happen the same way for other fixtures.