Mourinho criticised after Real Madrid win as Vinicius faces possible El Clasico ban

Jose Mourinho has been accused of “playing the victim” after refusing to attend his post-match news conference following Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday.

The match was overshadowed by the dismissal of Vinicius Junior, who was shown a red card for pulling the hair of Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba while the ball was in play.

Writing in Sport, Sergio R. Vinas said the “calm, peaceful conciliator” who appeared to arrive at Real Madrid had “completely disappeared” less than two months into the season.

According to Vinas, only nine matches were needed for Mourinho to produce what he described as the Portuguese manager’s “best catalogue of victimhood tools” during press conferences.

Mourinho explained his decision to miss the media duties by saying he wanted to remain on the bench for Real Madrid’s next two matches against Sevilla and Barcelona. Vinas interpreted that as evidence Mourinho “felt unable to control his anger at the refereeing performance” and chose silence to avoid a possible punishment for his comments.

Supporters inside the Bernabeu could be heard chanting “Negreira is still refereeing”, “corruption in the federation” and “Tebas, leave now”.

Vinas said it was unusual to see the stadium entertaining itself with conspiracy theories in the absence of good football. He argued that such a narrative helped conceal the central issue: Real Madrid “have still not got going” under Mourinho and remain “stuck with the shortcomings carried over from the previous two seasons”.

Vinicius dismissal adds to pressure

The sending-off of Vinicius was the main source of controversy during the match. Vinas described it as a “very clear red card” under the laws of the game.

The report said the Brazilian was dismissed for pulling an opponent’s hair when the ball was in play and was not being contested between the two players.

Vinas believes the wording of the referee’s report should lead to a suspension of at least two matches. That would rule Vinicius out of the meeting with Barcelona at Camp Nou in two weeks, while the punishment could be extended because of the “aggressive behaviour” recorded by the referee.

The article also argued that Vinicius’ problems go beyond what it called his “irresponsible gesture”. Real Madrid are understood to have concerns about his physical condition, with the forward now “a long way from his recognised level”, particularly after signing a lucrative contract extension which runs until 2032.

Vinicius was greeted by whistles from the home supporters when he came on. Vinas wrote that “something broke between the Bernabeu and the Brazilian last season” and that the injury did not appear easy to heal.

After a goal which was later disallowed, Vinicius’ team-mates and Mourinho formed a large circle around him. Vinas said the reaction showed a “collective desire to indulge Vinicius and recover his best version”, but concluded that the treatment had so far been “unsuccessful”.