‘You can’t cross that line’: Simeone responds to Mourinho’s referee rant
Diego Simeone had little interest in joining Jose Mourinho's post-match war of words after Atletico Madrid's 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Sunday.
While Mourinho used his press conference to question the referee's decisions and display images of two controversial first-half challenges, Simeone delivered a calmer message: coaches must know where to draw the line.
"Whoever is speaking – be it me, Mourinho, Hansi Flick or Manuel Pellegrini, anyone – we have to be careful what we say," Simeone said.
"When you step outside the bounds of respect, whoever you are, it's not on. You can't cross that line."
Mourinho had been furious with referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias after Real Madrid were beaten in the derby. He argued that Atletico defender Cristian Romero should have been sent off for a stamp on Jude Bellingham, while Lee Kang-in's challenge on Federico Valverde also deserved a red card in his view.
Holding up images of the incidents during his press conference, Mourinho said: "We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here."
"Those were two clear red cards. The difficulties we've faced since the sending-off. Eleven against 10. Well, we can imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like if justice had been done."
Real Madrid's frustration deepened when Dean Huijsen was dismissed early in the second half for bringing down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting spot-kick to give Atletico the lead.
Jonathan David then doubled Atletico's advantage before Antonio Rüdiger pulled one back late in the match.
Mourinho also questioned the appointment of Ortiz Arias, pointing to the referee's lack of international experience.
"They've put a referee, aged 41, with no international experience – it's certainly not because he's a great referee," Mourinho said.
"Then the poor chap has come here and hasn't been able to cope with the pressure."
The Real Madrid manager stopped short of directly accusing officials of deliberately influencing the match, saying: "I want to believe that they simply made a mistake."
Simeone, however, refused to let the controversy overshadow Atletico's performance.
"Today we saw a great match; we defended very well against a team that plays very well," he said.
"We controlled the match when it was 11 against 11. We continued to control it when it became 10 against 11."
For Simeone, the result represented another step in Atletico's development rather than an opportunity to prolong the argument over refereeing decisions.
Atletico's victory moved them above Real Madrid in the standings and kept them within five points of leaders Barcelona. Mourinho's side, meanwhile, suffered their second defeat of the campaign.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Atletico midfielder Koke said the result showed his team could compete with the strongest opponents.
"We can compete against every team if we give 100 percent," Koke said. "Madrid are one of the best in the world and today we showed that."
The derby may have been dominated after the final whistle by Mourinho's criticism of the officials, but Simeone's response was deliberately different.
His message was simple: regardless of who is speaking or how intense the occasion becomes, respect has to remain the boundary that cannot be crossed.
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