Mourinho questions timing of Vinicius suspension before Roma clash

Jose Mourinho has criticised the timing of the announcement that Vinicius Junior had been suspended for four La Liga matches, with the decision revealed only two hours before Real Madrid’s important Champions League meeting with Roma.

Speaking to Movistar before the match, Mourinho was asked whether the punishment could affect the Brazilian winger psychologically. Instead, the Portuguese manager aimed his criticism at the Spanish competition committee and questioned why the decision had been made so close to kick-off.

“I think that question should be directed to the competition committee. Why did they announce the punishment at this time?” Mourinho said.

“If you are asking me this question, then you clearly believe it could affect him.”

He added: “You should ask the committee why they did not announce the decision this morning or tomorrow morning. Why announce the punishment two hours before an important match for Real Madrid, who are a Spanish club?”

Vinicius was sent off in Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. The Brazilian was dismissed in the 73rd minute after pulling an opponent’s hair during an incident in which he had scored, although the goal was disallowed because of the offence.

The Spanish disciplinary committee subsequently imposed a four-match suspension.

As a result, Vinicius Junior will miss Real Madrid’s La Liga meeting with Barcelona on 25 October. He will also be unavailable for the matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia.

Mourinho also discussed the challenge posed by Roma’s pressing strategy and called on his players to cope with the pressure being applied in the attacking areas.

“I want Roma not to press us so high, for the sake of the players we have available,” he said. “They press their opponents man-to-man in the forward areas like no other team does.”

“We will see whether we can take advantage of that. If we cannot, they will have to drop five or 10 metres.”

The manager also explained his decision to select Antonio Rudiger in central defence instead of Dean Huijsen, pointing to the importance of experience in what he expected to be a difficult atmosphere at Roma.

“Rudiger and Konate played extremely well in the last match and showed great leadership and resilience in a difficult situation, after the team played with 10 men for 30 minutes,” Mourinho said.

Asked about returning to Roma, the club he managed between 2021 and 2024, Mourinho said only that his feelings about the return had become “obscured”, without offering further explanation.