Furious Mourinho: I don't want to think everything was rigged

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho launched a scathing attack on the Spanish refereeing committee, specifically targeting referee Ortiz Arias, who officiated the derby against Atletico Madrid. The "Royals" lost 2-1 and claimed several uncalled red cards for their opponents.

Here's what the "Whites'" coach stated at the post-match press conference:

– What's your opinion on the officiating? Regarding the first half, the tackles by Cuti Romero and Kang-In Lee...
– Those were two obvious red cards. The difficulties we faced afterward, playing eleven against ten, imagine what 50 minutes of eleven against nine would have been like. So, I must limit myself to embracing my players, who gave their all. They played a first half with great class and character. The match could have been entirely won in the second half. And then, those who should be happy... obviously the Atletico people, because they won the points, but those who should be happy are from the refereeing appointments committee, because everything was very strange. First, a week before the match, the referee was already known, and as far as I'm told, this usually happens 24 hours before the game. Yet, a week earlier, the referee was already known. Then they appoint a referee who, at 41 years old, has no international experience... it's hardly because he's a great referee. Then, the poor man came here and couldn't handle the pressure, what I call the "80s pressure," which is rarely seen these days. And then Mr. Trujillo, who was on VAR, called him for the first red card, but I don't think he called him for the second, which is even more obvious than the first... This Mr. Trujillo has a very rich history as a VAR in Real Madrid matches. And without going far, last season, Real Sociedad in the cup, Osasuna, Girona... He is a VAR with a great history, and if the poor referee... one could say he lacks experience and stature to officiate a derby... for this gentleman, there is no pressure. Because there, in Las Rozas, there is no pressure. Or there is, and we don't know. I would very much like to leave here... obviously with a win, but in a loss, I would very much like to leave without having to speak. I've been here for three months, and I think you've already understood that I'm not much in that direction. But... two red cards against Elche, although we won afterward. Two red cards today... (sighs)... it's a bit harder now. This combination, a poor referee who has only officiated small matches, and the gentleman on VAR who has a great history. Well... congratulations to the refereeing appointments committee.

– Do you still believe in the honesty of referees, or do you see strange things? And did Hausen's red card seem fair to you?
– Regarding Hausen's sending off, I admit I haven't watched it on VAR yet... excuse me, on VAR, on the iPad. I haven't seen it yet. And it was too far away for me to judge. I don't know, I don't know. Some in the locker room tell me that the foul starts outside the penalty area, and if so, it should be a free-kick, a red card, and 0-0. If it's inside, it's a penalty, and if there's a clear intention to pull the shirt, in that case, yes, it would be a red card. But all of that is in the second half. And in the first, we're talking about a derby eleven against nine. The second was eleven against ten, and the difficulties were evident. The players had to give everything to fight, so imagine eleven against nine. There are no miracles in football. Eleven against nine... we can imagine how it would have ended. But, honestly, I still haven't seen the situation with Dean.

– You're six points behind Barca, and Atletico has overtaken you... What's your assessment of the first part of the season in La Liga?
– Obviously, we want to be first, not second, third, fourth, or fifth. We want to have more points. Obviously, obviously. But under normal circumstances, and it's not important how it starts, but how it ends, under normal circumstances, and we're talking about the end of September, with so much left to play... but when... and I wouldn't want to get into this, because I've already gone too far and I don't want to anymore. But the things that have been seen in recent weeks... here, at this stadium... Osasuna's disallowed goal is laughable, the penalty in San Sebastian is laughable, Barcelona's penalty is laughable, the uncalled red card against Athletic Bilbao with that gentleman, who was very sympathetic (points backward), with a boy who is a great player... these are accumulated things. I thought I would find a different league from the one I left. They told me it wasn't, and they explained why it's no different from the league I left here years ago.

"We will fight. Now the boys are sad, of course, but they have the support of their coach, because I have immense respect for what they feel on the pitch. I respect the fact that it's not easy to be on the field in such a situation. If we remember the match against Elche, the two red cards for Elche... no, but in the first minute, Diomande's yellow card... what our players feel on the pitch is not normal," stated Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his team's loss.

"I liked how my team played as a collective. A lot in the first half, and in the second... obviously it was very, very, very difficult. It was extremely difficult to keep the ball, to stop the possession of a good team that was playing with a man more. But I liked the pride, the determination. And that's a good feeling for me. Not to be disappointed with my players, not to have anything to blame them for. Despite the negative result, it's a positive feeling for me," added the Italian specialist.

Asked if he thought winning La Liga would be more difficult after this match, Ancelotti replied: "If they leave us alone, calm, and allow us to compete on equal terms with everyone, there is still a lot, a lot of time left. I don't want to go too far and say that this is something prepared. I don't want to think about that, but simply that they made a mistake, just as a coach or player makes mistakes. I want to believe that the refereeing committee made a mistake."

After a short pause, he continued: "Poor people, they made a mistake and put a 41-year-old who has never been in such a situation, and another who has a very ridiculous history against Real Madrid. They just made a mistake, that's all."

Asked if he thought the league was tainted by the "Negreira case," the coach responded: "Negreira is gone, right? Or is he still there? Ah, if he's gone, then it's not tainted by Negreira. If he's gone..."