Real Madrid hits out at refereeing after defeat in Madrid derby

Real Madrid lost to Atlético 2-1 in the capital derby at the Metropolitano Stadium, a match that saw significant refereeing controversy, according to the official website of the royal club.

Real Madrid pointed out on its official website that referee Ortiz Arias made several influential decisions during the match, most notably failing to send off Cristian Romero after his challenge on Jude Bellingham, as well as not showing a red card to Kang-in Lee following his tackle on Federico Valverde.

After half an hour without much danger, the derby events began to take a more exciting turn, specifically in the 35th minute, when Jude Bellingham reached the ball before Cristian Romero, before the Atlético defender put his foot on the left knee of the Real Madrid player.

Referee Ortiz Arias issued a yellow card initially, before VAR referee Trudío Suárez called him to review the incident on the pitch screen. After returning to VAR, the referee rescinded the card given to Bellingham, but opted to give Cristian Romero a yellow card instead of sending him off.

A controversial refereeing incident occurred in the 44th minute when Kang-in Lee fouled Federico Valverde, injuring the Real Madrid player on his left ankle. Despite the referee being close to the incident, he did not show a red card and did not even issue a yellow card to the Atlético player. Additionally, the video assistant referee did not intervene this time to request a review of the incident.

In the 50th minute, referee Ortiz Arias awarded a penalty to Atlético after a clash between Dean Huijsen and Giuliano, showing a yellow card to the Real Madrid defender. However, the video assistant referee intervened again, asking the referee to review the situation on the screen. Ortiz Arias then decided to cancel the yellow card and showed a direct red card to Huijsen, leaving Real Madrid to finish the match with ten players.

Alejandro Grimaldo successfully converted a penalty, giving Atlético the lead with one goal. In the 59th minute, Atlético managed to add a second goal through Jonathan David, making Real Madrid's task more difficult in the derby.

Real Madrid had a chance to reduce the deficit in the 76th minute, when Yan Diomande broke through on goal against goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but Atlético's keeper was more impressive and managed to deny the opportunity. In the 89th minute, Real Madrid managed to score their first goal through Antonio Rüdiger, who rose high and headed the ball into the net after a free-kick taken by Bernardo.