Mourinho tells Vinicius Jr to curb emotions after yellow in La Liga opener

Jose Mourinho urged Vinicius Jr to rein in his emotions after the winger received an avoidable yellow card during Real Madrid's 2-1 La Liga opening win over Espanyol on 23 August 2026.

Vinicius joined Real Madrid in 2018 and, Mourinho noted, has been the target of regular abuse during his eight years at the club. The 63-year-old referenced an episode from the night he was in the Benfica dugout when Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racially abusing the Brazilian, a claim the Argentine denied.

The yellow card was shown after an argument with Espanyol midfielder Cala in the first half, and Mourinho said he spoke to Vinicius at half-time. He recounted telling the forward in detail: 'If you score a goal, be careful how you celebrate it so I can keep you on the field.' The incident occurred in Mourinho's first competitive match of his second Real Madrid spell.

Mourinho accused opponents of deliberately seeking a reaction from Vinicius "from the first minute" and said the provocation is "repeated" by teams he faces. "It's frustrating for him. He needs to have great emotional control," he said.

Reflecting on his past comments about the player, Mourinho said: "I run the risk of you going back months and pulling out my words when I was an opponent of Vini Jr." He added: "Now Vini Jr is mine. Vini Jr is not a saint, but what they do to him is too much."

On the broader issue of treatment on and off the pitch, Mourinho said: "We're in a social era of anti-bullying. With Vini Jr, we're still in the bullying era, whether it's from opponents or the crowd." He concluded with a plan for the player, saying: "We need to educate him as much as possible and prepare him as much as possible. And that's it."