Portuguese Jose Mourinho, manager of Real Madrid's first football team, strongly criticized the decision he described as 'shameful' by Spanish football authorities to announce the suspension of his Brazilian international winger Vinicius Junior for four matches just hours before the whistle of the club's Champions League match against Italian Roma on Wednesday in the second round.
Vinicius was punished after his red card during Real's 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday in the league for pulling an opponent's hair. Due to this costly penalty, Mourinho will be deprived of his star for several important league matches, including 'El Clasico' against rival Barcelona, who lead him by 6 points (24 vs 18).
Sharp Remarks
Mourinho spoke about his feelings regarding how the timing of the penalty announcement disrupted preparations in a press conference after the match, saying: 'Do you think it is normal for a player from a Spanish team, who has to play an important Spanish football match, to find out just two hours before the match that he is suspended for four matches?' He added: 'Can't they do it now? Can't they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come with the bus and arrive at the stadium almost to discover Vinicius is suspended for four matches?'.
He continued: 'They are doing things without shame now. The truth has come out. Two hours before the match, the player should know he is suspended for four matches.' The 63-year-old manager added: 'A Spanish team earned three points for Spanish football, for the ranking, and for the reputation of Spanish football. You want to kill a player two hours before the match, this does not seem normal to me'.
Displeasure with the Schedule
Mourinho also expressed his displeasure with the match schedule, as Real is scheduled to face their counterpart AEK Athens in the Greek capital on November 4, before traveling to Valencia to face their local team in the league on the 7th. When asked about the meaning of the decision to suspend Vinicius, Mourinho answered: 'At the very least, it indicates disrespect'.
He continued: 'This is completely illogical, they force you to play on Saturday in Valencia, which is a very difficult match, it does not seem innocent to me and I do not believe the usual excuses, because this did not happen 25 years ago. Excuses from the TV channel, that it is the one who decided, and that it is the one who chose the match on Saturday, I no longer believe this talk. I am too old to accept it'.
Real Madrid's Uprising
It was a magical night for Mourinho on the pitch, as his substitutions turned the course of the match in favor of Real after his performance was weak for most of the periods until the last minutes. The Dutch Doniel Malin, Roma striker, gave the lead 3-1 at the beginning of the second half, but two of Mourinho's substitutes scored two goals, the Brazilian Endrick and Carlos Espai, while the other substitute, Turk Arda Guler, provided two decisive assists in the late uprising.
Mourinho concluded by saying: 'I will not claim that I was fully prepared to win 3-1 then 4-3, this is not true. But I believed I had substitutions in the last 20 minutes, substitutions that I could make, substitutions capable of changing the course of the match'.
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
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