Vinicius Jr received a four-match suspension from the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee
Jose Mourinho criticised the announcement coming hours before Real Madrid faced Roma in the Champions League
Mourinho said the timing was unfair to the player and harmful to Spanish football
Vinicius Jr has been suspended for four matches by the Spanish football federation's disciplinary committee, with the decision announced hours before his side - featuring Vinicius Jr - faced Roma in the Champions League.
The timing angered Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, who spoke after his side's astonishing 4-3 comeback win. He argued that the call landed just before a major European game and hurt both the player and the club before a match that also mattered for Spanish football.
"Do you think it's normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that is also important for Spanish football, that two hours before the match a player knows he's been given a four-match suspension?" Mourinho said following their astonishing comeback to win 4-3.
"Couldn't they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension?" Mourinho said.
"They do things shamelessly now. The cat is out of the bag now. Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension." Mourinho said.
"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." Mourinho said.
Red Card Incident
The ban followed the Villarreal match.
Vinicius came on after 52 minutes against Villarreal and thought he had scored Real Madrid's second goal. The referee then reviewed the build-up on the pitchside monitor before changing the decision.
The review showed Vinicius had pulled Saliba's hair before scoring. The referee sent him off and disallowed the goal.
The disciplinary committee suspended the winger for two games for "behaving violently ... (while) not being in a position to challenge for the ball". It added a further two matches for "protests" to the officials.
Aftermath And Apology
Mourinho then stayed away.
Following the match, Mourinho did not attend the post-match news conference. Real Madrid were left to deal with the fallout after the comeback win.
Vinicius later apologised on social media. He said he was "sorry to the team and the [Real Madrid] fans"
