Mourinho Stokes Refereeing Controversy Ahead of Real Madrid's Return to the Olimpico

One sentence was enough to light up the pre-match buildup. "I invite you to watch just the first minute of the Villarreal game," Jose Mourinho said in the press room at the Olimpico, making it clear that last weekend's refereeing controversy was far from closed, even as he insisted otherwise.

The Real Madrid coach arrived in Rome with Champions League duties on the agenda, but the first question was, inevitably, about what happened at the Bernabeu. On Saturday Real Madrid beat Villarreal, but Mourinho chose to skip his post-match press conference after protesting several of the referee's calls, including the sending off of Vinicius Junior for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair, right on the play before a goal that VAR ended up disallowing the Brazilian.

Asked about the issue again on Tuesday, Mourinho was blunt at first: "I have nothing to say about that." But he quickly dropped a hint that everyone read as a way of pointing the finger at the referee without saying another word.

I invite you to watch just the first minute of the Villarreal game. If you want, we can talk about Saturday. The first minute is enough for those who know.Jose Mourinho

He was also asked whether he trusts Champions League referees more than those in LaLiga, and there the Portuguese coach elaborated a bit further. He said he trusts "all of them," but added a curious caveat: what bothers him is when a referee's name is known weeks in advance for a given match, when in his view it should only be revealed 24 hours beforehand. He also took the chance to take a shot at the Spanish press, calling it "not very direct," claiming the Italian press is more focused on the match itself and that he preferred "going the other way" with questions.

A Special Reunion With Roma

Beyond the controversy, the match carries extra meaning for Mourinho: he returns to the Olimpico after being dismissed from Roma's bench in early 2024. The coach made no secret of his fondness for the club and its fans, calling them "special" and recalling that during his time there he always put "the interests of the club and the players, the fans" ahead of his own.

On Wednesday's opponent, Mourinho was direct: he believes both Inter and Roma are currently the two strongest teams in Italy, and he noted that his side beat Inter despite having three players suspended for that match. As for Roma, he pointed out that they arrive motivated to play Champions League football at home again, with fans who, in his words, "don't come to watch the game, they come to play and they play."

Real Madrid heads into this match looking for its second win of this Champions League campaign, after opening with a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan. In LaLiga, by contrast, the white side has already suffered two defeats, against Betis and Atletico Madrid, so they're looking for better results in Europe. For this match, Mourinho will be without Raul Asencio and Rodrygo due to injury, Ferland Mendy because he wasn't registered for the competition, and Eder Militao, left out for tactical reasons.

On the other side, Roma arrive after salvaging a draw away to Fenerbahce in their Champions League opener, the club's first appearance in the competition in seven years.