Atletico Madrid have responded to Jose Mourinho following the Real Madrid manager’s strong criticism of the refereeing decisions during Sunday’s 2 1 defeat in the Madrid derby.
Mourinho arrived at his post match press conference with printed screenshots of two incidents involving Atletico players. He argued that both situations should have resulted in red cards and suggested that Real Madrid could have played against nine men for most of the second half.
Rather than holding a lengthy discussion about the match, Mourinho used the images to make his point to reporters, insisting that the two incidents were clear enough to warrant dismissals.
The comments did not go unanswered. Atletico responded on Monday through their official X account with a pointed message calling for an end to what they described as harassment of referees.
The club first shared an image of a sheet of paper coming out of a printer with the hashtag #StopAcosoArbitralYA, which translates to “stop referee harassment now”. Atletico later posted an image of Mourinho holding the screenshots during his press conference, using the same message.
The response attracted more than two million views on X within two hours.
Atletico have previously used social media to respond to issues involving rival clubs. The Madrid side also made similar posts during Barcelona’s pursuit of Atletico forward Julian Alvarez.
Mourinho’s complaints came after Real Madrid suffered their second defeat of the season. The club had previously lost 1 0 away to Real Betis earlier in September, while its own match report described the officiating in the Atletico game as “dreadful refereeing”.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone, however, called for greater restraint when managers discuss referees and fellow coaches.
Simeone said coaches such as Mourinho, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick, Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini and himself operate under intense public attention and therefore need to be careful with their comments.
He stressed that there must be respect for referees and fellow professionals, warning that crossing that line was not acceptable.
Despite the defeat, Mourinho praised his players for their performance in the opening half, saying they had shown “great class and character”.
The latest exchange has added further tension to a Madrid derby already marked by controversy after Atletico secured a 2 1 victory over their city rivals.
