Jose Mourinho has not set foot at the Santiago Bernabeu since leaving Real Madrid in 2013, but his return to the Champions League with Benfica on Wednesday will be more complicated than initially expected.
Mourinho was unable to sit on the bench for the second leg of the play-offs after being sent off in last week’s 1-0 first-leg loss to Lisbon.
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The 63-year-old has also been criticized for his controversial comments following Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestani’s alleged racial abuse of Madrid star Vinicius.
The Argentine will miss the second leg after being provisionally suspended for one match while UEFA investigates the incident.
Mourinho won La Liga during his three years in charge of Real Madrid, making a huge impact on the Spanish giants during a period of intense rivalry with Barcelona and a period of both support and opposition for him in the dressing room.
Madrid president Florentino Perez is known to be a big fan of the Portuguese coach and there are rumors Mourinho could be hired to replace Alvaro Arbeloa next season if the season ends badly.
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The Spaniard, one of Mourinho’s disciples during his time in charge of the 15-time European champions, faces his biggest test since Benfica’s visit to the Spanish capital since replacing Xavi Alonso in January.
Mourinho was sent off in the first leg for complaining loudly on the touchline.
The coach said referee Francois Letexier avoided issuing yellow cards to Madrid players who risked second-leg suspensions.
“I’ve been on the bench for 1,400 games and (I can see) he knows very well who he can and can’t book,” Mourinho complained bitterly.
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“I (won’t) be on the bench, I can’t go to the dressing room, I can’t communicate with the team,” he added. “It’s going to be hard for me, but my teammates and assistants are there and they’re going to do their jobs.”
– Prestiani suspended –
The first leg was overshadowed by Prestani’s racist comments towards Vinicius.
UEFA’s decision to ban the Benfica man for one game has eased some tensions ahead of the second leg, with him likely to miss at least 10 games if European football’s governing body finds he racially abused Vinicius.
Vinicius wrote on social media after the game that “racists are first and foremost cowards”, while Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe backed his team-mate and said he heard Prestani calling the winger a monkey.
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The 20-year-old Benfica midfielder insists he did not racially abuse Vinicius after he covered his mouth with his jersey after his shock goal at the Stadium of Light.
Mourinho said he had spoken to both players and they gave him different versions of events.
The Portuguese coach then said Vinicius’s goal celebration was disrespectful and said Benfica was not a racist club because their biggest idol Eusebio is black.
Former Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf told Amazon Prime: “When Vinicius pisses you off and he says it’s okay to be racist – I think that’s very wrong.”
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“We should never defend racial abuse.”
Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident, which led to a pause of about 10 minutes in the second half, was a “disgrace to football”.
The second leg will be played in its shadow as Real Madrid will seek to avoid a humiliating early exit at the hands of Mourinho and advance to the last 16.
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