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The controversy of the Madrid derby<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Real Madrid<\/a><\/strong> lost at the Metropolitano, are fourth in La Liga<\/a>, and head into the break six points behind Barcelona. However, among Madrid fans, above all else, there is anger and outrage over the refereeing decisions<\/strong> that shaped the derby against Atl\u00e9tico. The match referee, Ortiz Arias<\/strong>, ended up stealing the spotlight in the much-anticipated showdown in the capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Atleti could have ended the first half not with one, but with two players sent off. The most controversial incident came from a challenge by Kang-in Lee<\/strong>. The South Korean planted his studs into Fede Valverde\u2019s ankle<\/strong>. The Uruguayan ended up on the ground, but VAR did not even call the referee over to review the play. Nothing came of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The other possible red card did at least send Ortiz Arias to the monitor. Romero and Bellingham<\/strong> went for a loose ball. The Englishman slid in and the Argentine stuck his leg out. At first, a foul was given in favor of the Madrid player, who was also shown a booking, but the VOR room spotted a stomp by the Atl\u00e9tico player on the knee of Madrid\u2019s number 5. After reviewing the incident, the referee limited himself to changing Bellingham\u2019s yellow card to a yellow card for Romero<\/strong>. But there was still no red.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It would not be until the second half\u2014and for a Real Madrid player\u2014that Ortiz Arias pulled a red card from his pocket. Huijsen lost his composure and brought down Giuliano Simeone<\/a> with his arms<\/strong>, just as he was about to receive the ball inside the box. At first, only a yellow was shown, but the decision changed after a VAR intervention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Madrid\u2019s anger was reflected in Mourinho\u2019s press conference. “The one who should be happy is the Referees\u2019 Committee. It was all very strange<\/strong>,” said the Portuguese coach, directly taking aim at the Federation. Meanwhile, no club player came out to speak in the mixed zone as a sign of their fury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n