Mourinho standing his ground

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is standing firm on his criticism of Spanish referees following his side’s 1-1 draw with Almeria on Sunday.

Mourinho risked incurring the wrath of the Spanish Football Association when he criticised referee Miguel Perez Lasa for failing to award Real two penalties against Almeria.

When asked about the issue ahead of Thursday’s Copa del Rey quarter-final clash against city rivals Atletico, the Portuguese manager remained defiant.

“We played against Atletico Madrid and conceded a goal that was offside. I came out afterwards and said that I would like the same referee for every game, because he is fantastic and I like him,” Mourinho said.

“How can I always be against Spanish refs? If you are honest like me, and you saw the game against Almeria on the television like I did afterwards, then you say that there wasn’t any controversy; there were penalties that weren’t given.”

“Is that controversial? Controversial is when you invent stories that don’t exist. But there isn’t an argument about things that are basic and true. There is a humility that doesn’t exist for referees, who won’t come out and say ‘there were two penalties and I made a mistake’.”

Real take a 3-1 advantage into the second leg at the Vincente Calderon Stadium, but Mourinho is not taking anything for granted, particularly given that his side have conceded six goals in their last four games.

“If we lose 2-0 or 4-1 tomorrow, then we won’t have any away games in the Copa del Rey. It ends tomorrow. The league is the league, and we will talk about it next Saturday,” he said.

“Today we are talking about the cup, and if tomorrow we lose 2-0 or 4-1, then there are no more cup games to play.”