Mourinho back to the trenches: rant with a list of grievances

José Mourinho returned to his most combative mode at the Metropolitano, according to MARCA, and after Real Madrid’s derby loss he went straight after refereeing. In the press room, the Portuguese coach delivered a heated rant in which he built a catalogue of incidents, arguing that decisions have mostly favored Atlético and also Barcelona in the season’s early stages.

Mourinho’s “grievance list”

Mourinho started by pointing to several recent calls that, in his view, were especially questionable. In the lead-up he had already hinted at the issue, saying: “¿No me preguntáis por los penaltis? Extraño, ¿No?”. At the Metropolitano, though, he didn’t hold back and went case by case, linking moments from different matches.

First, he referenced Atlético–Osasuna at the Metropolitano: with the score at 1-0, Arguibide appeared to equalize after a cross into the box, only for the goal to be ruled out. The referee judged a foul by Torró on Le Normand during the aerial challenge. MARCA notes that although Atlético went on to win 4-0, Mourinho treated that action as the start of what he sees as a pattern.

VAR and penalties

He also brought up the penalty Atlético received against Real Sociedad at Anoeta, where the controversy centered on the ball rebounding and the short distance of the contact. Mourinho argued the decision didn’t seem to be applied consistently, and he summed it up with a biting line: “El penalti en San Sebastián es para reír”.

The Portuguese then included a Barcelona penalty vs Levante after Lamine Yamal went down in the area, and the later incident against Athletic Club, where he believes Ortiz Arias failed to punish Lamine despite what Mourinho felt was clear contact. MARCA further points out that Mourinho referenced what was heard in the referee’s mic, with the official allegedly saying it was “a stomp that’s crazy” — yet no yellow was shown.

Finally, MARCA adds that Mourinho also mentioned the Real Madrid–Elche match on Tuesday, where Osorio’s elbow on Huijsen was not punished with a sending-off. He tied it together with the derby context as well, including Huijsen’s red card and the anger around several challenges that did not end in further expulsions.