Diego Simeone has hit back at Jose Mourinho after the Real Madrid boss let rip at the officials in the wake of Sunday evening's derby defeat, Atletico winning 2-1 in the seventh round of La Liga.
Mourinho tore into referee Ortiz Arias in his press conference. The derby served up several flashpoints, chief among them the sending off of Real defender Dean Huijsen and the penalty handed to Atletico, while Real's players also wanted Atletico duo Lee Kang-in and Cristian Romero dismissed for two dangerous challenges.
"The match was supposed to become 11 players against 9 players for 50 minutes, but instead it became 11 against 10 against us," Mourinho told the press.
He added: "Mr Trujillo, the video assistant referee, who did not call the referee to review the red card situation for Kang-in Lee, has a very strange history with Real Madrid, and as for the poor referee Ortiz, it is clear he cannot handle the pressure in matches of this kind."
Quizzed on those remarks after the match, Simeone kept it short. Two words: "No comment."
Then came a pointed message to Mourinho: "These are just phases of the game. Sometimes things go in your favour, and sometimes they don't. You cannot lose your respect for the referees. Anything is possible, no matter how famous you are, Mourinho."
"We respect everyone's opinions," he went on. "We are in a privileged position as coaches, so we have to be careful about what we say. We must respect others, the referee, and our colleagues. We are all losers when someone oversteps the bounds of respect, regardless of their standing. Mourinho, Simeone, Flick, Pellegrini, he should not overstep them."
Turning to the game itself, he told the DAZN network: "We controlled the match well in the first half, where there were no clear scoring chances. There are attacks that change the course of matches, and Giuliano's penalty was that chance."
As reported by Marca, he continued: "With an extra player, we exploited the situations in which we could inflict damage on them. That is how Jonathan David scored, and then they reduced the gap with a goal from one of their dangerous attacks."
The Argentine had warm words for Julian Alvarez too: "We have wonderful people, when you give your best, they appreciate you. Julian tried, it has been difficult for him, and we will help him get back on the right track. And I am very happy for Jonathan; he gives us that competitive spirit that enables us to compete to the furthest possible extent."
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