New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) The returning Real Madrid boss has put his weight behind star forward Vinicius Junior and hit out, saying that the Brazilian international was “bullied” for his clash with Espanyol players during his team’s 2-1 win in the LaLiga opener.
It appeared that Espanyol’s Calatrava fouled Vinicius in the opening exchanges of the game at the RCDE Stadium, but wasn’t shown a card. The Brazilian was put in the books for his dispute with Calatrava later.
“Vini isn’t a saint, but what people do to him is too much,” Mourinho said in the post-match press conference after his team’s win. “It started in the first minute. It’s something that has a format, one opponent after another after another, ‘I foul him, then you foul him, if I have a yellow card, you do it…’
The manager added that the Brazilian needs to maintain “great emotional control” despite being triggered. “It’s a frustration for him. He has to have great emotional control. I said to [Vini] that even if you score a goal, be careful how you celebrate, to stay on the pitch. It’s tough. We’re in a social era of anti-bullying, but with Vini, we’re still in the bullying era, whether it’s from opponents or from the public,” he added.
Meanwhile, Espanyol coach Manolo Gonzalez wasn’t too pleased with Mourinho’s comments. “Can’t we even touch him? This is football. I didn’t see any over-the-top challenges. The fouls he received are normal; nobody was singling him out,” he said.
Vinicius has often been subject to abuse from opponents. Last season, he was subjected to discriminatory abuse from Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni when Mourinho was the manager of the latter club. This happened during a Champions League game, as Prestianni was later slapped with a six-match suspension by UEFA.
At that time, Mourinho had defended Prestianni and was severely criticised. He had stated that being racist is the “last thing” this club would be.
–IANS
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