The referee’s words have now been released
Jude Bellingham confronted referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias after Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Atlético Madrid, repeatedly shouting: “Two red cards! Two!”
The England international was referring to challenges made by Cristian Romero and Kang-in Lee during the first half. Neither Atlético player was dismissed, while Dean Huijsen was sent off for Madrid shortly after the interval.
Bellingham’s confrontation was captured after the television broadcast had ended, according to SPORTbible.
Ortiz Arias has not given a public post-match interview about the controversy. However, recordings released after the game provide direct insight into what he saw and why he changed two of his decisions.
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Why Romero only received a yellow card
Ortiz Arias initially believed Bellingham had fouled Romero in the 36th minute. He awarded Atlético a free kick and booked the Real Madrid midfielder.
VAR official Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez then identified a possible case of mistaken identity and asked him to review the incident.
“Play it for me, please,” Ortiz Arias said when he reached the monitor.
The VAR explained that Romero had stepped on Bellingham and that the Madrid player had reached the ball first. Ortiz Arias then announced his revised decision.
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“Okay. I’m going to cancel the yellow card for the Real Madrid player and show a yellow card to the Atlético Madrid player.”
The complete exchange can be heard in the official VAR recordings published by the Spanish Football Federation.
Crucially, the referee was sent to the monitor because he had booked the wrong player, not because the VAR explicitly recommended a red card. After seeing the footage, Ortiz Arias decided Romero’s challenge warranted yellow.
Why Huijsen’s yellow became red
The referee initially awarded Atlético a penalty and showed Huijsen a yellow card for pulling down Giuliano Simeone.
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The VAR recommended another review because the foul may have denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Ortiz Arias asked to see a wider image before making his final decision.
“Can you give me a wide angle, please? I want to see where the goalkeeper is. I interpreted that the goalkeeper could get there,” he said.
After studying the additional angle, he changed his assessment.
“Okay, the goalkeeper is not within distance of reaching it. Indeed, there is no attempt to play the ball. I’m going to change the yellow card to red and keep the penalty. Thank you.”
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Alejandro Grimaldo converted the spot kick before Jonathan David made it 2-0. Antonio Rüdiger scored Madrid’s late consolation.
The incident Ortiz Arias has not explained
The most significant gap concerns Kang-in Lee’s challenge on Federico Valverde shortly before half-time. No card was shown, and the VAR did not recommend a review, meaning there is no released conversation in which Ortiz Arias explains his decision.
AS reported that sources within the Technical Committee of Referees considered the challenge a red-card offence. That remains an anonymously sourced assessment rather than a formal published ruling.
The recordings therefore explain Romero’s yellow card and Huijsen’s dismissal, but not the decision that has attracted the strongest reported criticism from within Spain’s refereeing structure. Unless Ortiz Arias or the federation offers a further explanation, his view of the Kang-in incident remains unknown.
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