Jose Mourinho has strongly criticised referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Daniel Jesus Trujillo Suarez and the Liga refereeing committee after his side’s combustible 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

After holding up photos of challenges between Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde and Atleti’s Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in, Mourinho said he had not reviewed Dean Huijsen’s second-half red card for pulling back Giuliano Simeone, which resulted in Alejandro Grimaldo scoring a penalty before Jonathan David added the hosts’ second in their 2-0 win.

Mourinho alleged that the circumstances surrounding the referee’s appointment had been wrong and suggested the VAR official had a history of poor decisions against Madrid.

Arias is in his seventh season as a Liga official and is the first from Madrid to have overseen the game, according to Marca. The outlet, who named him as their best referee of the 2021/22 season, said he is a PE teacher.

What Jose Mourinho said about referees after Atleti vs Madrid

“It was all very strange,” Mourinho said (via Madrid). “The first thing is that a week before the match, it was already known who the referee would be when, as I’ve been told, it should be announced 24 hours before.

“A week before, it was already known who the referee was. Then, it’s a 41-year-old referee who isn’t even international, and it’s not because he’s a great referee.

“The poor guy came here and couldn’t handle the pressure, which I call the pressure of the ’80s – something you rarely see today.

“Then there’s Mr Trujillo, who was on VAR… he has a very complete history as a VAR in Real Madrid matches.

“Last season alone, there was the Real Sociedad match in the Copa del Rey, and then there [were games against] Osasuna and Girona.

“This is a VAR with a lot of history. This combination: a poor referee who has only officiated small games and a VAR official with a long history.

“Congratulations to the referee appointment committee.”

Atletico vs Real Madrid: Mourinho wants ‘peace’

Madrid’s second defeat of Mourinho’s second spell in charge – both of which have come across their last three away matches in La Liga – has left them fourth after seven league games, six points behind leaders Barcelona.

“If they leave us alone, in peace and let us compete on equal terms with everyone, there’s still a long way to go,” Mourinho said of his complaints in the context of a potential title challenge.

“I don’t want to go too far and say this was prepared. I don’t want to think that. I want to think they simply made mistakes. Just as a coach or a player can make mistakes, I want to think the referee committee made mistakes.

“Poor people – they made mistakes, sending someone who’s 41 years old and has never been in a situation like this, alongside someone else with a very rich history against Real Madrid.”