Mourinho accuses opponents and crowd of bullying Vinicius after Real Madrid's win at Espanyol
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho accused opponents and supporters of bullying Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian winger was subjected to rough treatment in his side's opening 2-1 La Liga victory at Espanyol. The match, played on Saturday, marked the start of Mourinho's second spell at the club.
Mourinho said Vinicius had been targeted from the opening minutes, describing a pattern repeated from one opponent to the next. "Vinicius is no saint, but what they're doing to him was too much. Right from the first minute," he told reporters. "It's a pattern that repeats itself from one opponent to the next. I'll give him one, now you give him one. If I get a yellow card, you give him one. If I'm substituted, another player comes on who hasn't been booked yet, and you give him one."
A flashpoint in the opening minutes
Within the first five minutes, Espanyol's Alex Calatrava brought Vinicius down from behind and appeared to catch him again while the forward was on the ground. Real Madrid's players appealed for a red card, but the referee took no action against Calatrava. The incident was later described by Spanish newspaper Marca as a kick aimed at Vinicius's back while he lay on the turf, with the referee waving play on. Vinicius confronted Calatrava, leading to a brief scuffle, and both players were booked in the first half. Edu Exposito also received a yellow card for a second-half foul on Vinicius.
The controversy extended off the pitch, with DAZN posting video of the incident and Vinicius responding with sarcasm on social media.
Mourinho's guidance on emotional control
Mourinho said Vinicius, who has often been the focus of abuse from rival defenders and crowds during his eight years at Real Madrid, needed to stay composed despite provocation. "He needs to have a lot of emotional control," Mourinho said. "I've told him that if he scores a goal, he needs to be careful how he celebrates it." The coach elaborated on his half-time advice: "I spoke to him at half-time, and I even told him in detail: 'If you score a goal, be careful how you celebrate it so I can keep you on the field.' It's tough."
Mourinho connected Vinicius's situation to a broader social context. "We're in an era where society is against bullying, yet with Vini we're still seeing bullying – from opponents and from the crowd," he said. "We have to educate him and prepare him as best we can, and that's it."
The coach acknowledged the risk of his own words being revisited, given his history as Vinicius's opponent. "I run the risk of you going back months and pulling out my words when I was an opponent of Vini Jr," he said. "Now Vini Jr is mine."
Espanyol's response
Espanyol coach Manolo Gonzalez rejected Mourinho's characterization of the challenges. "Can't we even touch him? This is football," Gonzalez said, as reported by Lokmat Times. "I didn't see any over-the-top challenges. The fouls he received are normal; nobody was singling him out."
Match summary
Real Madrid secured the win after trailing at the break. Jude Bellingham headed in an early opener in the ninth minute from an Arda Guler cross, but Calatrava equalised in the 30th minute. Late substitute Carlos Espi scored the winner in the 90th minute after Espanyol's defence failed to clear a scrappy move.
Mourinho said his side deserved the win but acknowledged Espanyol's resilience. "I think we deserved to win, but Espanyol didn't deserve to lose," he said. "In the second half, we maintained great control and applied a lot of pressure, we took a lot of risks. We deserved to win. But a team that plays like Espanyol, that defends like that and counter-attacks like that, with players pushing themselves to the limit and good organization, it'll be tough for them to go home empty-handed. But we deserved it."
Historical context
The incident brought back echoes of last season's Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica, when Vinicius was subjected to discriminatory abuse by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni. Prestianni was later handed a six-match suspension by UEFA for conduct deemed homophobic. Mourinho, then Benfica's manager, had defended Prestianni and said being racist was the "last thing" the club would be. Some outlets noted the irony of Mourinho's current stance, with Yardbarker recalling his earlier comments that "something always happens" in stadiums where Vinicius plays.
Looking ahead
Real Madrid next face Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu on Wednesday. Mourinho, who was reappointed in June, 13 years after his first stint ended, will hope the win provides a foundation for the season, despite ongoing concerns about defensive lapses raised by The Tribune.