Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, came out in defense of Vinicius Jr. after the treatment received by the Brazilian forward during the 2-1 victory against Espanyol, in the white team’s league debut.
The controversy began in the first minutes, when Álex Calatrava knocked down Vinicius from behind and later appeared to hit him when the Brazilian was on the grass. The Real Madrid players demanded the expulsion, but the referee decided not to sanction the action.
Calatrava ended up being the protagonist on the other side of the field by scoring the goal that allowed Espanyol to equalize the match, after Jude Bellingham put the Madrid team ahead. Finally, Carlos Espí appeared in the 90th minute to give Real Madrid an agonizing victory in Mourinho’s return to the bench.
The Portuguese coach considered that what happened with Vinicius is part of a behavior that is repeated game after game.
“Vinicius is not a saint, but what they are doing to him is too much. From the first minute. It is a pattern that is repeated from one rival to another,” said Mourinho.
The coach also asked the Brazilian to control his emotions in the face of provocations from rivals and fans, especially during the celebrations of his goals.
“He needs to have a lot of emotional control. I’ve told him that if he scores a goal, he should be careful with the way he celebrates it,” he explained.
Mourinho went further and compared Vinicius’ situation with the harassment that society tries to combat in other areas.
“We live in a time in which society is against bullying, but with Vini we continue to see cases of bullying, both from his rivals and from the public,” he said.
The statements also have a special component due to the precedent of last season, when Mourinho led Benfica. In a Champions League match against Real Madrid, Vinicius received discriminatory insults from Gianluca Prestianni, who was subsequently sanctioned by UEFA with a six-match suspension for discriminatory conduct.
On that occasion, Mourinho was criticized for defending the Benfica player and partially blaming Vinicius for provoking the fans with his celebrations. Now, as coach of Real Madrid, the Portuguese coach is once again at the center of controversy for his words about the Brazilian.
