Roberto Gómez criticises Mourinho for overshadowing the football with refereeing debate

“Nobody talks about the football.” That was Roberto Gómez’s assessment after the derby at the Metropolitano. Alongside Raúl Varela on La Tribu, the journalist analysed the aftermath of the match and the controversy surrounding Ortiz Arias’s refereeing. He questioned the referee’s performance while also targeting José Mourinho, Real Madrid’s coach.

Roberto Gómez declined to enter the battle of statements. “I don’t comment on comments or statements,” he said, adding that he was “not a specialist in statements”. However, he did examine the main contentious incidents and sought to bring the debate back to the football played on the pitch.

On the refereeing, he said Ortiz Arias “should have sent off the Korean player”. He also stated that the referees’ committee had backed the analysis he had previously given on the incidents at the Metropolitano. In his view, “the penalty is obvious” and “the other yellow card is also quite clear”.

The journalist also criticised the referee’s management of the match. According to him, Ortiz Arias sought a form of familiarity with the players by calling them by their first names, mentioning “Kang In here, Manu there”. For Roberto Gómez, when a referee adopts that approach, it is a sign that he “is not strong”.

Beyond those decisions, he believes the refereeing controversy is diverting attention from the match itself. “Protests about referees always come from those who lose,” he said. He insisted that if Madrid had won, “nothing would be happening with Kang In” and “nobody talks about the football”.

Roberto Gómez particularly targeted José Mourinho’s reaction after the match, accusing the coach of talking about referees instead of the football. He finally restated his refusal to enter the war of statements: “I don’t comment on statements, because enough is enough. There are others for that.”

In the context discussed, Kang In Lee and Fede Valverde are mentioned.