Jose Mourinho, one of the most renowned managers in the world, failed to get the better of his former team, Real Madrid, in Benfica’s 1-0 UEFA Champions League loss. He has claimed Los Blancos were favored by the referee in the continental defeat.
Jose Mourinho Claims Bias in Real Madrid Defeat
Benfica, who defeated Los Merengues 4-2 in their final Champions League league phase tie last month, welcomed the La Liga side for a play-off clash earlier on Tuesday, Feb. 17. But, the Portuguese side crashed to a home loss following a goal from Vinicius Junior.
In the second half of the contest, several off-the-ball incidents diverted attention from the soccer. While Vinicius was allegedly racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni close to the hour mark, Mourinho was sent off for two quick yellows in the 85th minute.
After the end of the Champions League play-off first leg encounter, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss accused referee Francois Letexier of being partial towards Real Madrid.
“No no, I was sent off for saying something very obvious: the referee had a piece of paper that said, ‘(Aurelien) Tchouameni, (Alvaro) Carreras, and (Dean) Huijsen couldn’t receive a yellow card’. And he refused to book either Carreras or Tchouameni,” he told AS.
Mourinho continued, “I told the referee because I’ve spent 1,400 games on the bench, and he knew perfectly well who he could and couldn’t book. We know how it works. Real Madrid deserved the victory though… they were stronger than us.”
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The 63-year-old former Los Blancos manager also rued the fact that he will be unable to return to Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, Feb. 25, due to his recent sending off.
“No, I won’t be able to go to the dressing room, communicate with the team, and it will be difficult for me, but my teammates and assistants are there, and they will do their job,” the Portuguese, who has won two Champions Leagues in his coaching career, said.
Meanwhile, Benfica are in third place in the 2025-26 Primeira Liga standings with 52 points from 22 matches, seven points behind league leaders Porto. They will take on AVS Futebol SAD on Saturday, Feb. 21, before travelling to Madrid for the second leg clash.
On the other hand, Los Merengues are atop the La Liga table with 60 points from 24 games and will lock horns with Osasuna this Saturday before facing Benfica again.
