Less than an hour after Real Madrid rescued their La Liga opener with a 90th-minute winner at Cornellà, Jose Mourinho stood in front of the microphones and delivered an accusation that has been aimed at Spanish football for years, but rarely by a man in his position.
The tone was set inside the opening five minutes. Espanyol defender Alex Calatrava brought Vinicius Junior down from behind and then appeared to catch the Brazilian again while he was on the ground. Real Madrid’s players protested for a red card. The referee gave nothing. Later in the same half, Calatrava scored Espanyol’s equaliser.
“Vini isn’t a saint, but what people do to him is too much,” Mourinho told reporters. “It started in the first minute.”
He described what he sees as a coordinated approach among opponents.
Read also: Jonathan Kuminga signs with Timberwolves: a statement move that snubs Lakers and reshapes the West
“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…'”
Then came the line he chose to repeat.
“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.”
Booked in the opening exchanges
Vinicius was booked early after a dispute with Calatrava. Mourinho said he had spoken to the Brazilian about his own reaction, and framed the conversation as one about survival, not celebration.
Read also: The $40m-per-federation gamble that backfired on Gianni Infantino
“I said to him that even if you score a goal, be careful how you celebrate, to stay on the pitch. It’s tough.”
Vinicius did not add his name to the scoresheet.
Espi wins it in the 90th
Jude Bellingham headed Madrid ahead in the first half. Calatrava, the defender at the centre of the Vinicius flashpoint, equalised in the 30th minute. Substitute Carlos Espi drove the winner into the net in the 90th minute to hand Mourinho a victory on his first game back at the club he last coached in 2013.
Six months ago, from the opposite dugout
Mourinho’s language on Saturday landed with an added edge because of where he was standing six months ago. As Benfica manager, he watched from the opposition bench in February when Vinicius accused Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni of a racial slur during their Champions League play-off first leg in Lisbon.
Read also: Romano: Grealish to decide his Man City future within days as Aston Villa and Everton make contact
UEFA in April handed Prestianni a six-match suspension for discriminatory conduct, and said it would ask FIFA to extend the sanction worldwide.
Read also: Jack Miller's Yamaha MotoGP exit confirmed as World Superbike move takes shape
