Ortiz Arias has found himself at the centre of a storm after the Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atletico, with Real Madrid's channel launching a scathing attack on his decisions. They argued that challenges by Cuti Romero on Jude Bellingham and Kang-in Lee on Federico Valverde both deserved stricter punishment.
Romero's foul on Bellingham warranted a straight red, the channel insisted, before rounding on Ortiz Arias for reaching only for a yellow. "What a disgrace. How filthy. A yellow card for Romero?" they said after watching the replay.
The criticism did not end there. Kang-in Lee's challenge on Valverde should also have brought a red, the channel claimed, arguing Atletico ought to have finished the match with nine men over the two incidents.
Fury boiled over when Huijsen was sent off after a VAR review. The channel felt the decision left Real Madrid facing far tougher circumstances. "This can be debated, but Atletico should have played with nine players. A team that was supposed to play with ten players is now playing with an extra man. It is very difficult to compete this way," they said.
Rules were being applied at random, the channel went on. "It is the arbitrary application of the rules. Now they apply them, whereas previously they refrained from doing so out of cowardice. It is cheating against the competition."
Ortiz Arias's calls in the derby drew comparisons to previous refereeing incidents as the channel renewed its assault on both the official and the Spanish refereeing system. It had already objected to his appointment before kick-off, pointing to friendly exchanges it claimed he shared with Barcelona players after the Catalan side's match against Athletic Bilbao, on top of the fouls left unpunished during the game.
Mourinho addressed the appointment in his pre-match press conference. "I do not like talking about referees before matches," he said, though he admitted surprise at learning the derby referee's name a week in advance, noting that this does not happen the same way in other matches.