Jose Mourinho's mood darkens as he takes aim at 'shameful' LaLiga, 'strange' referees and even Real Madrid's own fans with pressure cranking up after another unconvincing display

Jose Mourinho's mood at Real Madrid is darkening, with pressure beginning to tell on the 63-year-old.

The Portuguese watched his side rescue a victory against Roma on Wednesday night but the Spanish giants remain unconvincing and trail bitter rivals Barcelona by six points already in LaLiga.

Mourinho appears to be reverting to type, picking fights to deflect attention from his stuttering side, with LaLiga, referees and even his own booing supporters in the firing line on what Spanish press have branded his 'blacklist'.

Mourinho was furious with what he perceived as deliberately provocative timing from LaLiga's disciplinary committee, who released news of Vinicius Jr's hefty four-game ban for a hair-pull just two hours before the Brazilian took to the pitch in Rome.

Vinicius proceeded to have one of his worst 60 minutes of the season before being unceremoniously hooked by the manager and replaced by eventual match-winner Endrick.

Mourinho bristled at full-time: 'You're the journalist, but... can I ask you a question? Do you think it's normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that's also important for Spanish football...

Jose Mourinho's 'blacklist' as described by Spanish press is a number of grievances

Mourinho was angered by the timing of news that Vinicius Jr had been given a four-match ban for a hair pull, with the decision announced hours before their Champions League match

'Do you think it's normal that two hours before a match, a player finds out he's been given a four-match suspension?

'You don't have to answer, but that's the question I'm asking. Do you think it's normal?'

LaLiga's disciplinary panel usually release punishments on a Wednesday afternoon and he used an unusual Portuguese expression to describe what he thought was an obvious move to enrage the club.

He said: 'Couldn’t they do it now (after the match)? Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning (today)? We have to come by bus, and it’s almost as we arrive at the stadium that we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension.

'In Portuguese there’s an expression, "a cat hiding with its tail sticking out".

'Well, it seems to me that now the cat isn’t hiding anymore. It’s out in full force. They do things without shame.

'You want to kill a player two hours before a match. It doesn’t seem normal to me; but at this point it seems normal, because at this point the cat isn’t hiding anymore.'

Mourinho wasn't finished there. His next gripe was with what he perceived as unfair scheduling with just 72 hours between matches in November before the international break.

He went on: 'At the very least, it shows a lack of respect. Playing in Athens on Wednesday night, arriving back in Madrid probably at five in the morning or something like that, and then playing in Valencia on Saturday, on a weekend preceding an international break, where it makes absolutely no sense to make you play in Valencia on Saturday, which is an extremely difficult match... It doesn't seem innocent to me.'

Vinicius Jr struggled against Roma with Mourinho claiming the suspension was an attempt to 'kill a player two hours before a match'

Mourinho took aim at LaLiga and its officiating in his post-match press conference after their dramatic Champions League win over Roma

'I don’t buy the same old excuses. I’ve been involved in football for 25 years. The excuses about ‘the TV’ — that "it was the TV that decided, it was the TV that chose Saturday for the match."

'I’m too old to swallow this. And this Vinicius story, finding out two hours before the match that he has a four-match suspension… It doesn’t deserve comment. Real Madrid fans aren’t stupid, and I’ll do everything I can to open people’s eyes.'

Only last week, he also took a swipe at the press, blaming the Spanish media for provoking Real fans into booing Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius this season.

'If there are whistles at the Bernabéu, for you it will be a great victory,' he said.

'This is one of your objectives! Obviously it is. You don't need to be Einstein to understand that the dynamic leads exactly to this... This is the objective. Whose? I prefer not to... not to talk about it.'

Mourinho had opted to skip his media duties at the weekend following Real Madrid's narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal.

Spanish outlet Marca reported that the 63-year-old was cautious not to make a comment that could result in a touchline ban.

Mourinho had hit out at officiating last month following Real Madrid's 2-1 loss to city rivals Atletico Madrid, where he labelled the appointment of referee Ortiz Arias as being 'very strange'.

The Real Madrid boss hit out at Arias' appointment by stating the referee has 'no international experience' and is not 'a great referee'.

Mourinho is seen complaining to referee Isidro Diaz de Mera at a game earlier this month

The criticism, which also included the appointment of the VAR officials, came as Mourinho held up photos of tackles made by Atletico Madrid players Cristian Romero and Kang-in Lee, which he believed warranted red cards.

Real Madrid fans have also felt the brunt of Mourinho's comments, with the Portuguese coach having questioned their booing of Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe last month.

'In Portuguese, we have a proverb that says we only throw stones at the trees that have fruit,' Mourinho said.

'So what Vini has done here over recent years - how many CL has he won, how many goals has he scored, how many balls has he won? His achievements speak for themselves so he is the tree that has a lot of fruit on it and people want to get a piece of Vini.

'During this digital era where we have access to so many stats, we can tell that he is very close to getting to his best version.

'He [Mbappe] is the tree with a lot of fruit. Obviously a player who scores more than 40 goals for a team is never a problem.

'I saw Kylian giving it his all. He was defending like an animal, even when he had nothing left. His attitude is incredible. It is a joy for me to see a player like that.'

Mourinho's Real Madrid side are currently fourth in LaLiga after winning six and losing two of their opening eight league matches of the season.

His side are currently six points adrift of reigning champions Barcelona.