Mourinho questions Mbappé penalty decision, challenges Vinicius yellow card

Abdullateef Fowewe

Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho has questioned why Kylian Mbappé’s saved stoppage-time penalty was not ordered to be retaken after Marc Bartra’s alleged encroachment, even as he accepted his side’s 1-0 La Liga loss to Real Betis on September 4, 2026 was down to wasted chances.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League opener against Inter, Mourinho said, “We lost to Betis because we didn’t convert our attacking opportunities into goals. Period. But the penalty. Why wasn’t it retaken?”

Mourinho suggested two possible explanations for the decision not to retake the spot-kick, and demanded clarity from those in charge of officiating.

“Well, because VAR doesn’t know the rules or because they didn’t want to.

“This is a question I’d like the people in charge to answer. Why? If VAR didn’t order it retaken because they didn’t know the rules, they should just go home and leave it at that. If they didn’t order it retaken because they didn’t want to, that’s even worse,” he said.

He also questioned why the on-field referee was not sent to the monitor to review the incident.

“And then there’s another, even worse question: if they didn’t know the rules, why didn’t they call the referee over to review it on the monitor? A bit strange,” Mourinho said.

“I want to assume honesty and think that he didn’t know he was in the penalty area. I prefer to go down that road. But if that’s the case, the referee can’t do it, VAR has to.”

The Portuguese coach stressed he was not using the incident to excuse the result.

“And I want to make it clear that we didn’t lose because of this, because we could have even missed the retake. But as the Real Madrid coach and as a player, I’d like to know why the message wasn’t repeated. I’d like people to answer me responsibly.”

Mourinho also raised a separate grievance over the yellow card shown to Real Madrid captain Vinícius Júnior for approaching the referee.

“The other thing about this match, which is unrelated, is why the Real Madrid captain received a yellow card. When Vinícius approached the referee and saw the card before he even reached him, I’d like to know why. Why are we always told that the captain has the right to politely approach the referee to ask for an explanation?” he asked.

Spanish refereeing authorities and multiple analyses say the decision not to retake the penalty was correct under the 2026–27 IFAB Laws of the Game.

Under the updated Law 14, a defending player’s encroachment only leads to a retake if it has an impact on the play, and the position is judged by where the player’s feet (or any body part touching the ground) are at the moment of the kick.

Crucially, “vertical projection in the air applies only when the entire body is not touching the ground.”

In this incident, replays showed Marc Bartra kept one foot grounded on or outside the penalty-area line as Mbappé struck the ball; because part of his body remained in contact with the ground outside the area, his airborne lean did not count as encroachment requiring a retake.

The Spanish Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has since backed the on-field decision, stating the penalty did not meet the criteria for a retake.