Mourinho condemns ‘shameless’ timing of Vinicius Junior ban

Jose Mourinho has criticised the “shameless” decision to announce Vinicius Junior’s four-match suspension only two hours before Real Madrid’s Uefa Champions League match against Roma.

The Brazil international was punished on Wednesday after being sent off in Real Madrid’s 1-0 La Liga victory over Villarreal on Saturday for pulling an opponent’s hair.

The suspension will rule Vinicius out of a significant period of league football, including a Clasico against Barcelona. Barcelona currently lead Real Madrid by six points at the top of the table.

Vinicius started as Mourinho’s side recovered from 3-1 down to beat Roma 4-3, scoring three times in the final seven minutes. Mourinho, however, said the timing of the disciplinary announcement had affected preparations for the match.

“Do you think it’s normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that is also important for Spanish football, that two hours before the match a player knows he’s been given a four-match suspension?” he said.

“Couldn’t they do it now? Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension?”

Mourinho said the decision showed “at the very least, a lack of respect”.

“They do things shamelessly now,” he added. “The cat is out of the bag now. Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension.

“A Spanish team that has earned three points for Spanish football, for the rankings, for the prestige of Spanish football. You want to kill a player two hours before the match; it doesn’t seem normal to me.”

The Real Madrid manager also questioned the fixture schedule. His team are due to play AEK Athens in the Greek capital on 4 November before travelling to face Valencia in La Liga on 7 November.

“Playing in Athens on Wednesday night, arriving in Madrid probably at 5am, something like that, and then playing Saturday in Valencia, on a weekend that precedes a week of national team matches,” Mourinho said. “It makes absolutely no sense; they make you play on Saturday in Valencia, which is an extremely difficult match. It doesn’t seem innocent to me.”

He rejected the explanation that television broadcasters had selected the Saturday fixture.

“The usual excuses, I don’t buy them, because this wasn’t 25 years ago,” Mourinho said. “The excuses from TV, that it was TV that decided, that it was TV that chose the match for Saturday, I don’t buy this anymore. I’m too old to swallow this.”

“And this Vinicius story, two hours before a match, knowing that he has a four-match suspension, doesn’t deserve comment. Real Madrid fans aren’t stupid and I will do everything possible to open people’s eyes.”

Real Madrid complete late comeback

Mourinho’s substitutions helped change the match after Real Madrid had been outplayed for much of the game.

Donyell Malen scored twice to put Roma 3-1 ahead early in the second half. Real Madrid substitutes Endrick and Carlos Espi then scored, while Arda Guler provided two assists during the late comeback.

“I’m not going to be a genius and say I had prepared everything for a 3-1 to 4-3 victory; it’s not true,” Mourinho said.

“But I genuinely thought that in the last 20 minutes I had substitutions I could make, and I had substitutions that could change things.”

Uefa Champions League matchday 2 results

Tuesday: Lens 0, SCP 2; Sabah 2, Slavia Praha 0; Galatasaray 1, Barcelona 4; RB Leipzig 1, PSV 0; Arsenal 3, LOSC 0; Atletico 2, Manchester United 0; Villarreal 3, Napoli 1; Viking 3, Bayern 3; Inter 3, Club Brugge 4.

Wednesday: LASK 3, Liverpool 6; Feyenoord 3, Como 2; Shakhtar Donetsk 3, AEK 1; Betis 3, Porto 2; Roma 3, Real Madrid 4; Slovan Bratislava 0, VfB Stuttgart 3; Aston Villa 6, Fenerbahce 0; Man City 2, PSG 4; Bodø/Glimt 1, Dortmund 0.