Jose Mourinho’s complex relationship with Vinicius Jr almost cost Real Madrid victory against Inter Milan.
The Portuguese coach has been trying to get back in Vinicius’ good books after his disgraceful comments about the racist abuse the Brazilian received playing against his Benfica in February.
As such, he’s been continually making a show when taking Vinicius off in matches, getting up from the bench to interact with the crowd.
It was no different in the Champions League against Inter when Mourinho called Vinicius off for Alvaro Carreras and stood up, gesturing to the crowd to applaud.
Some stood up in response, and Vinicius also reacted by applauding back and taking the credit.
However, the length of time the gesture took backfired as new UEFA rules state a player must come off within 10 seconds to avoid timewasting.
The substitution performance lasted over that timeframe, and as such Carreras was not allowed on for another minute, leaving Madrid with 10 men.
Inter maintained possession and almost scored through Hakan Calhanoglou with the score 2-1.
The origin of Mourinho and Vinicius’ troubled relationship
Mourinho’s troubled relationship with Vinicius began after the February Champions League match when the winger was involved in a confrontation with Gianluca Prestianni.
Vinicius ran to the referee who enacted anti-racism protocol, and Kylian Mbappe said in the mixed zone post-match that he heard the word ‘monkey’ five times.
TV images also showed Benfica fans making monkey gestures at Vinicius after his goal, and Mourinho was asked if his celebration provoked it.
“Yes. I believe so,” he said. “It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal.
“Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
Among the many to condemn the comments were his current goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian commented: “Mourinho is Mourinho. As a coach, you’re always going to defend your club and what your player has told you.
“The only thing I didn’t like was using Vinicius’s celebration. He celebrated like many players do when they score against Real Madrid, because the euphoria is always double or triple.
“We can’t justify an alleged act of racism with a celebration.”
Leave a Reply