“I invite you all to watch the first minute against Villarreal. Just one minute is enough.”

That was José Mourinho’s unusual request to the gathered journalists during an evasive and enigmatic pre-match press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League clash against Roma this Wednesday.

Asked about the refereeing decisions in the 1–0 win over Villarreal at the weekend, Mourinho instead decided to assign homework to those giving him questions.

“For those who know, the first minute is enough,” Mourinho added.

So what was the incident that left the manager so upset?

What Is Mourinho Referring to in the First Minute?

Mourinho’s Madrid saw out a 1–0 win at the Bernabéu on Saturday, bouncing back from defeat to rivals Atlético Madrid prior to the international break.

Summer signing Yan Diomande scored the only goal of the game early into the second half, while Vinícius Júnior had a strike ruled out for pulling the hair of Nathan Saliba—an action that earned him a straight red card, after a VAR review.

The sending off on 73 minutes was the big talking point post-match, but Mourinho did not engage in discussions about the red, instead directing reporters to the very first minute of the game.

Notably, the only refereeing intervention in the very early stages of the game is a marginal offside call against Kylian Mbappé at 1 minute and 4 seconds in, after the forward is played through by Federico Valverde. Spanish outlet MARCA claims to have confirmed that this is the incident Mourinho was referencing, with the manager seemingly incensed that the linesman raised his flag early rather than letting play run and waiting for the automated review.

Mourinho Builds a Narrative

Mourinho’s highlighting of one incidental, long-forgotten decision is part of a clear strategy from the manager to play into a narrative of potential bias against Real Madrid.

It’s a familiar playbook from Mourinho, who often works hard to instil an ‘us against the world’ mentality in the clubs he manages.

By drawing attention to one debatable incident in the first minute, Mourinho is hoping fans and media will infer a wider meaning, sowing seeds of doubt about refereeing neutrality—a hot-button topic among many Madrid fans given the ongoing Negreira case.

This is not the first time this season, Mourinho has put the match officials in the spot light. Prior to the match against Elche in September, the 63-year-old ended a press conference with the remark: “No questions about the penalties? Strange, no?”

Then, following the Madrid derby defeat, he brought printouts of contentious decisions to the press conference and lambasted referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias’ performance.

"We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," Mourinho said as he held up the images to the media.

Later asked if Madrid could still challenge for the title, he responded: “If ‘they’ leave us in peace, and let us compete on an even playing field, there’s a long way left.”