Bellingham confronts the officials

Jude Bellingham did not hide his anger after Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano.

Footage recorded after the final whistle shows the England international approaching referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias and repeatedly protesting about two first-half challenges.

“Two red cards! Two!” Bellingham shouted, as reported by SPORTbible.

The midfielder was referring to incidents involving Atlético defenders Cristian Romero and Kang-in Lee. Neither player was sent off, while Real Madrid were later reduced to ten men when Dean Huijsen received a red card early in the second half.

Read also: Spanish media turn on Marc Cucurella after nightmare Madrid derby

Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty before Jonathan David doubled Atlético’s lead in the 59th minute. Antonio Rüdiger scored for Madrid in the 89th, but José Mourinho’s side could not find an equaliser.

What happened in the Romero incident

The first disputed decision came in the 36th minute when Romero caught Bellingham with his studs. Ortiz Arias initially awarded Atlético a free kick and booked the Real Madrid midfielder.

VAR official Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez then sent the referee to the monitor. However, the audio published by the Spanish Football Federation shows that the review was initiated over mistaken identity rather than a direct recommendation to dismiss Romero.

“Miguel, I recommend an on-field review so you can assess a potential case of mistaken identity,” the VAR told Ortiz Arias.

Read also: The hat-trick that made history but couldn't save Sunderland

“I see that the Atlético Madrid player steps on the Madrid player. The Madrid player is the one who plays the ball,” he added.

After watching the replay, Ortiz Arias cancelled Bellingham’s booking and instead showed Romero a yellow card. Real Madrid believed the challenge deserved a red, but the published conversation does not show the VAR explicitly recommending that punishment.

The challenge that was not reviewed

Madrid’s second complaint concerned Kang-in Lee’s late challenge on Federico Valverde shortly before half-time. Lee was not booked, and the referee was not advised to conduct an on-field review.

AS reported that sources within the Technical Committee of Referees considered the challenge worthy of a red card. That assessment has not been issued as a formal public ruling by the Spanish federation.

Read also: Herta rules out a second F2 season, and his Cadillac F1 path narrows

Huijsen’s dismissal was more straightforward. He pulled back Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area without making an attempt to play the ball. Ortiz Arias initially showed him a yellow card but upgraded it to red after the VAR concluded that Giuliano had been denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

One confirmed mistake and one disputed decision

Real Madrid later claimed Atlético should have been reduced to nine players during the first half. The club’s official account described the refereeing performance as “dreadful” and argued that the decisions changed the match.

The available evidence presents a more nuanced picture. Sources within the refereeing committee reportedly agree that Lee should have been dismissed, while Romero’s yellow card remains more open to interpretation. The official VAR recording confirms that the referee was primarily asked to correct the identity of the player who had committed the foul.

Bellingham’s angry protest therefore reflected a wider sense of injustice inside the Madrid camp, but only one of the two incidents he highlighted has subsequently been described by refereeing sources as a clear red-card offence.

Read also: 'It's a joke': Sevilla's coach defends Raphinha after hat-trick humiliation

Read also: Ferrari will not blink: Vasseur shuts down Hamilton's number one push