Vinicius Junior had been told he was banned for the next four La Liga matches two hours before kickoff at the Stadio Olimpico. He conceded possession for Roma’s go-ahead goal in the second half. He was substituted on 59 minutes. And he was being jeered by his own supporters while it was happening.
Speaking to reporters after the match, he addressed the whistles directly.
“The booing certainly doesn’t help me, but the fans pay for their tickets and they can say whatever they want,” Vinicius told Goal.
“I’d rather they boo me than one of our young players.”
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He offered his own explanation for being the target, telling Goal he thought supporters found it easier to boo him because he had been at the club longer and was one of the captains.
Mourinho on the ban timing
José Mourinho, in his first season back in charge at the Bernabéu, had already turned on the Spanish federation. The four-match suspension, handed down for a hair-pulling incident during Saturday’s 1-0 win at Villarreal, landed in the Real Madrid camp two hours before the Champions League tie.
“Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension,” Mourinho said after the game.
“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.”
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The ban rules Vinicius out of this month’s Clásico against Barcelona.
Angry at the substitution
Vinicius also made no attempt to hide his frustration at being hauled off with the game in the balance. He was replaced by Endrick, who scored shortly after coming on as Real Madrid rallied from 3-1 down to win 4-3 through Antonio Rüdiger’s stoppage-time header, according to ESPN’s match report.
Vinicius told Goal it was natural to be angry when substituted because he always wanted to play every minute, before praising Endrick for changing the momentum and scoring.
Fonseca split confirmed four days earlier
The Rome storm came days after Vinicius’s personal life returned to the Brazilian front pages. On 11 October, Virginia Fonseca’s representatives confirmed to local media that her relationship with the Real Madrid forward had ended for a second time, four months after the couple reconciled in July.
The Clásico against Barcelona is Real Madrid’s next La Liga fixture, and they will play it without him.
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