Mourinho says Vinícius Júnior is unfairly targeted but wants him to manage his emotions better

MADRID (AP) — José Mourinho, once known for his fiery personality and frequent touchline outbursts, wants to help Vinícius Júnior control his emotions better.

Mourinho, looking much calmer at the start of his second stint as Real Madrid coach, said Tuesday that he thinks Vinícius is being unfairly targeted, but the star forward can do better when reacting to provocations.

The Brazilian was involved in several incidents with opposing fans and players in the team's opening Spanish league match at Espanyol on Saturday. Madrid hosts Real Sociedad for its second match on Wednesday.

“There is on the field and off the field,” Mourinho said. “The reaction to fans and insults, obviously if they are not racist or homophobic insults, but the typical insults by fans, then I think he can control it better. His relationship with the opposing fans, I think he can do better. In the game, when it comes to the fouls and the accumulation of frustration that he feels, that’s the responsibility of the referees, or the judges, as I like to call them, in terms of their responsibility to protect the players and the game.”

Mourinho said it's harder to help Vinícius when it comes to the in-game incidents, but when it's about his relationship with the opposing fans, then “it's something that we can work on.”

Last year, Mourinho was criticized for attacking Vinícius' character after the player accused an opponent of racially insulting him during a Champions League match against Benfica. The coach in charge of Benfica at the time suggested that the Brazil forward incited opposing players with his celebrations after scoring.

“When I was Benfica's coach, I was only interested about Benfica,” Mourinho said Tuesday.

The veteran Portuguese coach said it's become obvious the difference in the treatment on the field toward Vinícius and toward other players.

“It's gone into a spiral in which the opponents know what they can do and what they can't do,” he said. “If the players can provoke and pressure Vini, either physically or with words, if the yellow card is only shown after 10 fouls, if there can be violence, then it’s a type of treatment that I don’t like.”

Mourinho, returning to Madrid after a stint at the club from 2010 to 2013, said he would likely be quickly sent off if he was in Vinícius' shoes in some of the situations that he faces.

The coach noted, though, that his own behavior has changed significantly over the years and is not as fiery as he once was.

“I'm think I'm calmer,” Mourinho said. “And it's not just now, I've been like that over the last few years. I feel calmer, with more control of my emotions.”

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Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, right, vies for the ball with Espanyol's Omar El Hilali during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, vies for the ball with Espanyol's Carlos Romero during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho talks with his player Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies.

Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The United States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures Tuesday. That’s in response to the Trump administration enacting 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump said Tuesday on social media.

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is home to the country’s auto industry.

The rhetoric between the two countries is escalating, with Trump telling Canadian leaders Monday to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney has accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada.

Trump also threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, while Carney said U.S. trade demands showed that Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum.

Canada and the United States share one of the world’s largest trading relationships, with deeply integrated supply chains across autos, energy, agriculture and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade fight potentially costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border.

Businesses and consumers are caught in the middle, facing uncertainty about how much prices may increase.

Michael Howard II, owner of a furniture business in Warren, Michigan, outside Detroit, said the tariffs will hamper the “ability for us to put food on the table for our family, but also impacts the ability for us to give back to our community.”

Howard and his wife started their business a decade ago. They make and sell everything from dining room tables to bookcases.

“To say that we don’t need Canada is just disingenuous,” he said. “It’s dishonest. And it’s just absolutely not truthful. We need our neighbor, but also they need us.”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and three other Cabinet ministers are also expected Tuesday morning to share details of support for workers affected by tariffs. Carney said earlier Monday that Canada may need to move away from matching U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar and instead use more targeted retaliation aimed at protecting Canadian workers and businesses.

“An attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States” is “not something we’re going to accept,” Carney said.

Carney was even more blunt in French.

“We learned during the negotiations that the Americans want to destroy our major industries, including autos, steel and aluminum,” Carney said. “That was one of the main reasons we said no. It was a bad deal.”

Rob Gillies reported from Ontario. Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington and Mike Householder from Warren, Michigan

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at a housing development in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chrysler Pacificas are driven off the lot at Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Dax Melmer/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

President Donald Trump speaks during a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)