Luis de la Fuente Gives His Verdict on the Madrid Derby Refereeing and Sends a Message After Mourinho’s Comments

The debate over the refereeing in the Madrid derby was far from over following Real Madrid’s dramatic defeat to Atlético Madrid, with a new voice entering the controversy with comments that carried several messages, particularly after José Mourinho’s strong criticism of the referee and VAR.

While the Real Madrid manager demanded explanations over several decisions, Luis de la Fuente adopted a different tone. The Spain head coach discussed the quality of referees in Spain and the role of VAR before addressing one particular incident that had angered Mourinho during the derby.

De la Fuente said he believes Spain has the best referees, while stressing that refereeing is extremely difficult and that VAR is positive in his view, although it is not infallible.

The Spain coach also said mistakes should be acknowledged naturally when they happen, making it clear that when a referee gets something wrong, it should simply be recognized as a mistake rather than turned into something bigger.

Asked about the incident involving Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in and Federico Valverde, one of the challenges Mourinho believed should have resulted in a red card, De la Fuente said the referee may have needed more assistance in that situation.

Mourinho had shown reporters printed images of several incidents during his post-match press conference that he believed should have resulted in red cards, including Lee Kang-in’s challenge on Valverde, while strongly criticizing the referee and VAR.

When the discussion turned to Mourinho’s comments, De la Fuente did not respond with a counterattack. Instead, he said Mourinho’s words seemed reasonable to him, adding that the Real Madrid manager was affected by the situation that had unfolded during the derby.

De la Fuente’s comments came while the refereeing controversy remained a major talking point following the Madrid derby. Real Madrid played a large part of the second half with 10 men after Dean Huijsen was sent off, while Mourinho focused much of his criticism on Atlético players not being sent off during the first half.

De la Fuente therefore chose a different approach to the controversy. Rather than engaging in a direct confrontation with Mourinho, he defended Spanish refereeing and VAR while still leaving room to acknowledge that certain incidents could have been handled better.