Cameras caught the exchange in close-up. After the yellow card Bellingham had just earned was scratched off and handed to Romero instead, the Argentina defender turned to him with a line in Spanish: “sos un llorón”, “you’re a crybaby.”

The 35th-minute challenge is the one both Madrid clubs are still arguing about. Bellingham got to the ball first, and Romero came in late and planted his studs on his left knee. Referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias initially booked the Real Madrid midfielder, went to the VAR monitor, and reversed himself. The yellow was rescinded and Romero was cautioned instead. No red card.

Former Spanish top-flight referee Iturralde González said the call was wrong.

“He tried to reach the ball, and this requires a red card. He planted his foot firmly and did not pull it back,” Iturralde told Goal.

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Real Madrid label officiating ‘dreadful’

Real Madrid did not wait for the coach’s press conference. The club used its own match report to publish a scathing complaint, headlining the piece “A dreadful refereeing performance decides the derby” and describing the decisions as catastrophic, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

The statement singled out two first-half moments. The Romero challenge on Bellingham was the first, with the club pointing out that Ortiz Arias reviewed the incident at the monitor and still gave “a yellow card to the Atlético defender instead of sending him off.” The second was Lee Kang-in’s 44th-minute stamp on Federico Valverde’s left ankle, which Real Madrid said the referee ignored entirely, showing “no red card (or even a yellow card).”

Bellingham argued the case in person at the final whistle. He walked straight at Ortiz Arias, according to reporting from the Metropolitano.

“Two red cards! Two!” he shouted repeatedly at the official.

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A rematch since the World Cup semifinal

The Romero-Bellingham exchange carries its own history. The two faced each other in the 2026 World Cup semifinal, where Argentina beat England on the way to the final, Infobae noted. Saturday was Romero’s first Madrid derby after his summer move from Tottenham to Atlético for a reported fee of around €33m.

Six points off the top

The refereeing row does not change the result. Alejandro Grimaldo put Atlético ahead from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, moments after Dean Huijsen was sent off for pulling down Giuliano Simeone as the last defender. Jonathan David doubled the lead in the 59th minute, his third goal in three matches. Antonio Rüdiger pulled one back in the 90th, but Real, down to ten from the start of the second half, could not find an equaliser.

Atlético climb to second in La Liga, five points behind leaders Barcelona. Real Madrid drop to third, six points off the top after seven matchdays and their second defeat of the season.

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