Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho talked about his team’s captain Vinicius Jr being booked for merely talking to the referee, despite the rule which allows captains to peacefully discuss decisions with the officials.
In a recent press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s match against Inter on Tuesday, Mourinho was asked about a lot of referee related questions from their loss to Real Betis last Friday, and, as always, Mourinho obliged.
The manager talked about VAR, and how it impacted the game, but his lesser talked about rant was for Vinicius Junior, who was booked for going up to the referee and trying to understand the situation, despite wearing the captain’s armband.
Speaking on the matter, Mourinho said: “The other thing in this match, which is unrelated, is why the Real Madrid captain received a yellow card.
“When Vinicius approached the referee and saw the card before he even reached him, I’d like to know why. Why are we always told that the captain has the right to approach the referee politely to ask for an explanation? I apologize for using your question, but I wanted to comment on this decision.”
Captain or not, Vinicius Junior should be protected
Mourinho is absolutely spot on. If any other player had gone up to the referee in search of an answer for a decision he did not agree with or understand, they would receive a yellow card, in theory. That makes sense, as it is the rule.
No one is arguing against it. However, at that time, Fede Valverde had already been subbed off. Vinicius Junior is the vice captain of this Real Madrid side, and he was wearing the armband when he was booked during the ninth minute of stoppage time.
Valverde was subbed off for Carlos Espi in the 82nd minute, which now, makes no sense as to why the Brazilian was booked.
He did not really approach the referee in a hostile manner, according to Mourinho, which is why the Portuguese manager is standing up for his Brazilian superstar, and wants to know exactly why the card was shown.
It also may have a lot to do with the treatment that Vinicius Junior faces from referees and rivals, which could be why the player was booked. There have always been double standards in play whenever Vinicius Junior has stepped on a pitch in La Liga.
There would be fouls that wouldn’t be called in the Brazilian’s favour. There would be so many cards not shown to the opposition just because it happened to Vinicius Junior and not anyone else.
If this is the same reason Vinicius Junior was given the yellow card – because he is not the popular figure among opposition and officials – then it is really, really unfortunate, and the double standards are getting too difficult to ignore.
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