Atletico hit back at Mourinho over referee complaints

Atletico Madrid have hit back at Jose Mourinho after the Real Madrid boss arrived at his post-Madrid derby news conference on Sunday carrying printouts of screenshots displaying two incidents he believed should have resulted in red cards for Atletico.

Mourinho accused the officials of making key errors after Real were beaten 2-1 by Atletico, claiming the hosts should have been handed two red cards in the first half.

On Monday, Atletico posted twice on their X account, the first being a video showing a sheet of paper coming out of a printer with the words #StopAcosoArbitralYA, meaning “stop referee harassment now”.

A second post showed a picture of Mourinho at the news conference with the same message.

The response from Atletico received two million views on X within two hours of it being posted.

Diego Simeone’s team often use their social media accounts to respond to their rivals, repeatedly posting on X this summer to ridicule Barcelona over their pursuit of Atletico’s talisman Julian Alvarez.

Alongside Mourinho’s post-match claims, the match report published on Real’s website said that the derby loss was decided because of “dreadful refereeing” of Ortiz Arias.

It was Real’s second defeat of the season, having lost 1-0 to Real Betis earlier in September.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said as he showed media the printed images on sheets of A4 paper on Sunday.

“Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.

“So I’ll just have to limit myself to hugging my players, who gave it their all and played a first half, showed great class and character, setting us up perfectly to win the second half.”

Simeone, when asked to respond to Mourinho’s refereeing rant, said he was always respectful of everyone else’s opinions.

“I understand that we’re in a privileged position with a lot of public scrutiny, as coaches, and whether it’s Mourinho, [Barcelona manager Hansi] Flick, [Real Betis boss Manuel] Pellegrini, me, or anyone else, we need to be careful about what we say,” he said.

“We have to know how to respect others, the referees, our colleagues. And when someone crosses that line of respect, it’s not right - you can’t cross that line.”

Was Neville right to call out Man Utd for a 'lack of effort'?

Gary Neville started for Sky Sports as a pundit and co-commentator in 2011

“I’ve watched Manchester United since the age of five and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely pathetic.”

Gary Neville did not hold back in his criticism of Manchester United’s performance during Sky Sports’ coverage of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham.

The players had just laboured through the opening stages of the second half, culminating in a Lisandro Martinez own goal gifting the home side the lead.

“I’ve never seen such a lack of effort,” Neville added. “What must Michael Carrick be thinking?”

Neville played 602 games for United over a 19-year career, winning everything the club game had to offer. So his criticism comes from a qualified position.

This season’s out-of-possession stats would appear to back it up too, with the Red Devils ranking 16th for distance covered, and 17th for total number of sprints.

But does that tell the whole story?

United’s dismal running and sprinting stats made for stark reading in the wake of Neville’s criticism.

After all, the former right-back had directly questioned a lack of effort, and referred to the players as “mannequins”.

He said United - and Fulham - were walking too much during the game.

In the Premier League this season only four teams have covered less distance than the Red Devils, and just three teams have produced fewer sprints.

It comes alongside United’s joint-worst start to a Premier League season, with four points from five games.

So is this down to the running and the effort?

Let’s take a look at the second half of last season, after Carrick had been appointed as manager.

Between 17 January and the end of the season, United picked up more points than any other team - 39 points from 17 games.

Yet only four teams ran less than United, and only two clubs had fewer sprints.

There is no material difference in the running stats, but United were returning 2.29 points per game compared to the 0.8 this season.

Something is clearly different, but it does not appear to be linked to this particular stat because barely anything has changed - apart from the results. Maybe this United squad simply does not have runners.

Then there is the comparison to rival teams.

Manchester City have won all five Premier League matches but have covered less distance than United. Enzo Maresca’s squad have also recorded the lowest number of sprints in the division.

Brighton, one of the most exciting teams in the league this season and the top goalscorers, are one place above United for sprints.

Maybe United’s problem is tactical rather than a simple case of not running enough?

Neville setting the media agenda when it comes to United is not a new thing.

The former England international has called out the team’s shortcomings on many occasions.

Look back to December 2021, and a poor first-half performance against a struggling Newcastle side when Ralf Rangnick’s side trailed 1-0 at the break.

“They’re a bunch of whinge-bags,” Neville said at half-time on Sky Sports. “I’ll not go into names but they’re whinging at each other, arms up in the air complaining about everything. There’s no pressing, no urgency, the basics of the game.”

Edinson Cavani rescued a point at St James’ Park, but Neville’s comments had already made the headlines.

You only need to look at how the post-match coverage went after the Fulham draw.

Neville’s remarks were put to Carrick at full-time. The United manager said fitness levels of his players were not an issue.

But the die was cast.

“Neville: That was the worst ever”, read the back page of Monday’s Daily Telegraph.

“15 minutes of shame”, was the lead for the sports section of the Daily Star.

“United boss keeps calm after Neville Ful blast,” said the Daily Express.

It was picked up across online media, and discussed at length on radio talk shows.

When Neville criticises his former club, it carries weight.

In January, with Ruben Amorim under pressure for poor results, the Portuguese head coach said that “if people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club”.

Amorim was dismissed the following day.

There always seems to be a strong influence in the media related to the dominant team of a previous era.

For example, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, former Liverpool stars such as Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson and Phil Thompson dominated a lot of the conversation.

It stands to reason that now members of the all-conquering United squad will have a leading role in the media.

But for Neville, it is bigger than anyone apart from Gary Lineker and his Goalhanger production company.

“When does Sky wonder if they are paying a lot of money in wages to train their next competitor?” It is a question posed by Richard Gillis, who hosts the Unofficial Partner sports business podcast.

While Neville started out in the media as a pundit with Sky Sports, the 51-year-old is now one of the biggest players in a rapidly changing industry.

After co-founding the sports entertainment production company Buzz16 in 2016, Neville launched YouTube platform The Overlap in 2021.

The Overlap produces Stick to Football - one of the UK’s most popular football content channels with 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025.

Earlier this year it entered into a strategic partnership with radio giants Global, with the aim to create a multi-format sports media network.

Neville this summer exited Buzz16, focusing his attention on The Overlap, which has branched out into cricket and rugby, and secured live Bundesliga rights.

The YouTube channels of United influencer Mark Goldbridge were recently acquired, a further sign of the influence Neville now wields in football’s media industry.

Goldbridge made his name with expletive-laden rants during streamed ‘watchalongs’ of United matches, and his channels have about four million subscribers.

Gillis points out that Neville was attracted to the Goldbridge brand, and his United Stand podcast, because it creates noise when there is no football.

“Noise is valuable,” Gillis told BBC Sport. “Man Utd generate more of it than any other club in the Premier League. Anger creates engagement. And from the Sky commentary box, Neville is well placed to create anger.”

In a bid to ramp up its content, The Overlap is believed to have targeted national newspaper journalists to come on board and cover United.

“It poses questions,” Gillis says of this development. “Currently, Neville is the story. He says something, the media reports it, the fans respond to it. A valuable loop. At what point does The Overlap and the United Stand become the rivals of the media? What is the United Stand now? A noise merchant, or a news organisation?”

To many, it probably does not matter whether Neville’s comments about United’s running are valid or not.

They create headlines, column inches and legitimate talking points under the Sky Sports name.

Yet Neville is himself a media mogul who also works within another organisation.

And at present, when measured by media coverage and impact, all parties are winners.

Mourinho and Simeone renew rivalry in Madrid derby after more than a decade

The last Madrid derby between Mourinho and Simeone came in the 2013 Copa del Rey final, when Atletico beat Real 2-1 after extra time

When Atletico Madrid welcome Real Madrid to Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone will renew a rivalry not seen for more than a decade.

The two managers have not faced each other since 2014, when Mourinho was manager of Chelsea and Atleti knocked the English side out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge.

But this will not be their first Madrid derby as rival managers.

That came two years before the Champions League encounter, when Simeone’s Atletico welcomed Mourinho to their former home, the Vicente Calderon Stadium, during the Portuguese’s first reign as Real boss - he left with a 4-1 win that day.

“This is a derby,” Mourinho said. “Derbies are always something more special because of the history, the culture of the games and the passion of the fans.”

But, ever the pragmatist, he added: “But obviously three points is most important thing.”

Mourinho has three wins and a draw in their six previous meetings, while Atleti’s 2013 Copa del Rey triumph ended a 14-year wait for a derby victory.

Real Madrid go into the match second in La Liga with 15 points from six games, with Real Betis on the same number of points and Atletico fourth on 13.

Leading the table are Barcelona on 21 points, meaning defeat for Mourinho’s men would leave them six points behind after the first seven matches.

Atleti have themselves responded to consecutive defeats by Athletic Club and Liverpool with back-to-back victories, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and then Osasuna 4-0.

Real Madrid also come into the derby on the back of a success, edging past Elche 3-2.

Mourinho has spent much of the build-up resisting comparisons with Atleti and Barcelona, despite the contrasting narratives surrounding the clubs.

Hansi Flick’s Barca side have made a perfect start with eight wins in all competitions - seven in the league - while Real have had to produce defining moments in several matches.

Their last league outing against Elche reflected this. Real led 2-0 before being brought back to 2-2, only for substitute Carlos Espi to score a 91st-minute winner.

“It’s not normal to be winning 2-0 then the other team is able to equalise,” Mourinho said, while pointing to the character shown by his players in finding late winners.

“The league is a marathon and it’s not always a straight line. There will be obstacles, but we will be there to overcome them.”

That ability to manage matches is one of the main questions surrounding Real as Mourinho acknowledged they have not yet reached the level of control he wants, despite positive results.

“I am aware of the fact we can improve, we have to improve, but I also see a lot of very positive collective and individual things and in the three games where we needed last-minute winners, we found them,” he added.

The derby carries particular significance because of Real’s recent difficulties at the Metropolitano, where they have won only two of their past 11 away matches, with the last in La Liga four years ago.

Atleti also won the corresponding derby last season 5-2 - a result that represented an early setback for Real’s previous project under Xabi Alonso.

This time, though, there is a different manager on the touchline.

Mourinho’s return this summer has brought a familiar emphasis on organisation and adaptability, but he insisted his tactical approach is dictated by the players available to him rather than a fixed philosophy.

“I’ve evolved alongside my players,” he said. “You have what you like and don’t like as a manager but then you have to work with the group of players you have.”

Simeone’s assessment of Real’s biggest weapon was clear.

“They’re better in transition than us,” said the Argentine, who has managed Atleti in over 800 games since taking charge in 2011.

He believes Real’s ability to turn winning the ball into instant attacking opportunities will be one of the key tactical elements in the game.

“When there’s a loss of possession, they look for [Kylian] Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, they play to that strength,” added Simeone.

“We have to read the game well and not allow any turnovers, so we don’t allow them to use those transitions.”

It is a warning that carries weight given the attacking options and speed available to Mourinho.

France striker Mbappe remains the focal point, while Vinicius Jr provides another route into space.

Real also have the quality to change the game from the bench, something the 21-year-old Espi has already demonstrated since his summer arrival from Levante.

Aware of the feisty and hostile encounters of old, Simeone has urged his players not to become overwhelmed by the occasion.

“I’m not one for giving advice,” he said when asked how his players should approach the fixture.

“It’s normal for new players to feel pressure, with the excitement a game like this generates, but they need to be calm. Football is about composure.”

Simeone, though, described Atleti as a team still “in construction” after a busy summer in which seven players left and five arrived.

One of the biggest selection issues concerning him involves compatriot Julian Alvarez, who has missed the past two games with a muscle problem.

Forward Alexander Sorloth is also injured, while new signing, Canadian Jonathan David, has scored in each of his last two appearances.

However, Simeone confirmed Alvarez will feature at some point, giving his side more strength in attack and threat in transition.

While both he and Mourinho will plot the downfall of the other’s team, there is respect between the pair after their past.

“I have huge respect for Mourinho, I’ve been an admirer of his for a long time,” said Simeone. “He knows the regard I have for him. Hopefully we can compete as we have done when we’ve faced him.”

Mourinho revealed he had been asked to discuss Simeone for a documentary and had no hesitation in speaking positively about him.

Having been in charge for 100 days, he refused to give himself a positive or negative assessment.

“All I can say is that I’ve given it my all,” he said. “I gave 100%. We have to keep on doing that every day.”

Mourinho prints out 'red card' incidents after Real lose derby

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho arrived at his post-match news conference carrying an A4 sheet of printed paper with screenshots displaying two incidents he believed should have resulted in Atletico Madrid dismissals.

Mourinho accused the officials of making key errors after Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid, claiming the hosts should have been handed two red cards in the first half.

It was Real Madrid’s second defeat of the season, having lost 1-0 to Real Betis earlier in September.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said as he showed media the printed images.

“Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.

“So I’ll just have to limit myself to hugging my players, who gave it their all and played a first half, showed great class and character, setting us up perfectly to win the second half.”

Diego Simeone, in contrast, was ecstatic with the result and when asked to respond to Mourinho’s refereeing rant, said he was always respectful of everyone else’s opinions.

“I understand that we’re in a privileged position with a lot of public scrutiny, as coaches, and whether it’s Mourinho, [Hansi] Flick, [Manuel] Pellegrini, me, or anyone else, we need to be careful about what we say,” he said.

“We have to know how to respect others, the referees, our colleagues and we all lose out. And when someone crosses that line of respect, it’s not right - you can’t cross that line.”

Mourinho argued the two first-half decisions had a significant impact on the match, insisting his team had shown character despite the circumstances.

The first incident Mourinho referenced involved Real’s Jude Bellingham and Atleti’s Cristian Romero in the 37th minute, when both players challenged for a loose ball and the clash ended with Bellingham being shown a yellow card.

At the time, Mourinho pleaded with the referee for a red card to be shown to the Argentina international for dangerous foul play, because replays showed Romero made contact with his studs on Bellingham’s knee. Bellingham’s yellow card was retracted after a video assistant referee review and Romero was given a yellow.

The second was for a challenge by Atletico’s Lee Kang-in on Fede Valverde, which Mourinho believed should have been a straight red card.

The Portuguese also questioned the appointment of the match officials, saying he wanted to believe the decisions were mistakes rather than deliberate.

“I want to believe they are simply mistakes, just as a coach makes mistakes, just as a player makes mistakes,” he said.

Despite the defeat, Mourinho said he had no complaints about his players’ commitment and praised their performance, particularly in the first half.

“I liked my team as a unit. Even in the first half I really liked them, and in the second half it was obviously very difficult to get the ball and to stop Atleti’s possession. I liked their pride, I liked their determination, and it’s a good feeling for me to not be disappointed in my players”.

Mourinho also addressed the dismissal of Dean Huijsen, which awarded Atletico a penalty, admitting he had not yet watched the VAR replay.

The defeat leaves Real Madrid fourth in the league standings, with Atletico second - five points behind league leaders Barcelona.

Yet Mourinho was keen to stress that there was still a long way to go in the season.

“Under normal circumstances, it’s not about how it starts, it’s about how it ends,” he said.

Atletico manager Simeone rejected the suggestion the result would be overshadowed by the refereeing debate, saying his team had controlled the contest.

“The match I watched was an intense one, where I think we controlled it at all times,” the Argentine said.

“We faced an opponent with incredible transitions and extraordinary players who obviously play for their team and do so very well. We controlled almost all the transitions they could have had.”

Simeone described the derby as an intense match and praised his players’ defensive organisation and collective effort against a Real Madrid side featuring several dangerous attacking players.

“I think we controlled the match at all times, through our teamwork, our defence, our collective effort, our group dynamics, and our play. Looking for where we could hurt them, which we knew was on the right side.”

La Liga will resume on Friday 9 October following the international break.

Will the three-week break put more pressure on managers?

Fulham coach Alvaro Arbeloa and Manchester United boss Michael Carrick have endured difficult starts to the season.

Three weeks is a long time in football - especially if you are a manager struggling for results.

So far this season three coaches have lost their jobs - Paul Heckingbottom at Preston North End, Michael Duff at Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough’s Luke Williams.

But plenty of others will be looking over their shoulders heading into the new, extended international break.

That includes the managers of Fulham and Manchester United, who on Sunday meet at Craven Cottage in the final fixture before players jet off around the world with their countries.

It will all be pretty new to Alvaro Arbeloa, appointed as Fulham’s manager in the summer after taking charge of just 28 games as Real Madrid boss in the second half of last season.

But with no wins and three defeats in his first four Premier League matches, and speculation of unrest among the squad due to players’ social media activity, the pressure is already on Arbeloa.

Likewise Michael Carrick at Old Trafford, especially after the 3-2 EFL Cup exit to Brighton on Wednesday.

It was the first time United had led at home by two goals and lost since they were beaten 3-2 by Tottenham in 1976, half a century ago.

Coming on the back of the 1-0 loss to 10-man Manchester City, and with their only victories this season against Ipswich Town and Sabah, Carrick needs results.

But they are not the only managers who might have cause for concern.

Over the past 10 years, it has been rare for a Premier League manager to be replaced this early in the campaign.

Even more so in the international break.

But could it be different this year? The first break is longer, three weeks rather than two, and comes later.

The September slot used to come at the start of the month when clubs had only played three league fixtures.

In the past 10 years only two managers - Watford’s Javi Gracia in 2019 and Nottingham Forest’s Nuno Espirito Santo last year - moved on during this break.

What about the October stoppage? Again, only two managers have previously lost their jobs during the same period - Francesco Guidolin at Swansea in 2016, and Xisco Munoz at Watford in 2021.

This suggests clubs do not tend to use an international break to change manager.

It is, though, far more likely to happen in November, with six bosses replaced in the past 10 years.

That does not mean managers are safe, though. The changes simply were not made during the breaks.

In the past 10 campaigns, nine coaches had left their jobs by the time the second international break came along - which is where we are in the number of games.

With no manager to move on yet, could it come in the next three weeks?

Former Stoke, West Brom and Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis explains when the pressure can build for a football manager.

With the first international break upon us, rumblings around certain clubs that have started the season poorly have surfaced.

In my time, the October/November international breaks, the pause just after the Christmas period, and then early March would be the three sticking points for any manager who was struggling with results.

Why these breaks are used for clubs to make changes is plain to see. The pause in the season gives football clubs the chance to appoint a new manager with time for them to settle into their new role, to take stock of the surroundings, staff and time to prepare for their first game in charge.

After Christmas, usually the first game is an FA Cup match, which again gives the new boss a chance close up to see what they have to work with. First impressions can be a vital starting point, so again the manager has time to prepare and deliver their principles to the lads.

Personally, I’ve joined quite a few of my clubs midway through seasons, and have left a few clubs going the other way, but I do honestly believe that those international breaks, for the reasons I’ve given, definitely heighten the chances of struggling managers getting the sack.

I don’t see this September break as a flashing light, it is too early in the season, but from then on in, the dates I have mentioned really do come into play.

But this early international break doesn’t help any managers.

Whether your team is winning or losing, on both accounts, it’s a nightmare. If you’re winning you want to keep playing, and yet if you’ve started badly as a manager you want more time to put it right. Players travelling and the chance of injuries at such an early stage of the season is completely bonkers in my opinion.

Roberto de Zerbi’s Tottenham are yet to win a Premier League game this season.

While the evidence suggests things have to get pretty bad for a club to change manager early in the season, a few bosses are feeling the heat.

There are ways of losing games of course, but I don’t see the trip to Fulham as being ‘make or break’ for Carrick in the sense of his job.

Carrick says it would be “ridiculous” to think that way - and I agree.

He got enough credit in the bank last season by steering Manchester United into the Champions League to ride out a poor start to the season.

I think the issue is United generate so much debate that a loss at Craven Cottage, which would be United’s first since 2009, against a team that has only one point and is bottom of the table, would lead to numerous external inquests - which in turn puts a laser focus on the club when they resume their campaign against Tottenham on 10 October.

It is unclear exactly how much danger Arbeloa is in, but there appears to be some substance to reports of disgruntlement among elements of Fulham’s squad early in the campaign.

His significant tactical changes since replacing Marco Silva have left the Cottagers vulnerable at the back, although they produced a more solid display in a goalless draw away to Liverpool last weekend. Silva spent five years at Craven Cottage.

However, owner Shahid Khan has shown a ruthless streak in the past when making managerial changes. Claudio Ranieri lasted just 106 days in charge, while Felix Magath was sacked in September 2014, albeit having been appointed the previous season.

The results go from bad to worse for Tottenham. Having spent about £300m on new talent over the summer the club’s owners are getting very little bang for their buck in terms of points (and goals) scored.

But there is no sense whatsoever that Roberto de Zerbi is under pressure despite the club’s difficult start - no wins from five games.

The vibes with regards to how the team is starting to play are positive amid a sense that it is only a matter of time before they click.

Of course, for Tottenham, it needs to click sooner rather than later.

Pierre Sage has endured an indifferent start to life at Palace. One league win so far hasn’t gone down particularly well internally, nor has the team’s leaky defence since the Frenchman’s arrival from Lens.

Allowances will be made for the unavailability - for a manner of reasons - of key attacking duo Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The 4-0 win over Lech Poznan in the Europa League on Thursday eased some of the pressure, but a defeat at Leeds this afternoon would come at the worst possible time for Sage.

Nicky Hayen quit Genk to spearhead Burnley’s bid to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

The Clarets started the season as third favourites for promotion, behind West Ham and Wolves, but are winless in their first eight matches.

In his pre-match news conference on Friday, the Belgian faced questions about his future.

Hayen admitted he was under pressure and Saturday’s game against fellow slow starters Derby was a must-win fixture.

But a disappointing 1-1 draw, with the Rams scoring a stoppage-time leveller, left Burnley rock-bottom going into the break.

The Burnley board might now be assessing their options.

Derby manager John Eustace, who almost took the club to the play-offs last season, is not safe either with the club in the relegation zone.

A Watford manager can never rest easy in their seat. Alessio Dionisi, appointed in the summer, became their 27th permanent manager in just under 18 years.

Friday’s defeat at Bristol City left the Hornets with two wins from their first eight league games under the Italian, who managed Empoli before moving to England.

Sitting in 19th position in the league table, three points above the drop zone, it would not be a surprise if owner Gino Pozzo decided to make an early change.