Mourinho brings memories and more controversy back to Rome in Champions League visit

ROME (AP) — José Mourinho left Roma 2 ½ years ago huffing and puffing over the referees after failing to qualify the club for the Champions League during his turbulent but also successful stay in the Italian capital.

Now he’s back to lead Real Madrid into the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday for Roma’s first Champions League home game in 7 ½ years. His ongoing laments and histrionics over the referees have prompted controversy in Spain and Madrid is struggling while rival Barcelona is soaring at the start of his second stint in the Spanish capital.

Mourinho didn’t show up for his mandatory post-match news conference on Saturday after Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior had a goal dismissed and was sent off with a direct red card for pulling the hair of a Villarreal player in La Liga.

The hair-pulling episode came after Madrid called for a new Spanish league president, arguing that Javier Tebas’ comments against the club regarding refereeing complaints were “intolerable.”

Tebas criticized the club for attacking the officiating crew in the 2-1 loss at Atletico Madrid before the international break.

After the derby, Mourinho took a piece of paper with photos to the post-match news conference, saying there were “two clear red cards” that weren’t shown to Atletico players. The Madrid coach then spent nearly five minutes complaining of “strange” things that have happened to his team this season and in the past.

Perhaps Mourinho’s mood will get a lift in Rome, where he remains a beloved figure after leading Roma to successive European finals — a Conference League title in 2022 and a Europa League final the following season.

Current Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini said he expected the club's fans to pay tribute to Mourinho before kickoff.

“It’s only fair. The fans really loved him so he deserves whatever tribute they give him," Gasperini said on Tuesday. "But once the match starts, I think they’ll forget those feelings and Rome’s people will cheer exclusively for their squad.”

Mourinho's current state could also bring back memories of more clashes with the officiating crews.

Mourinho was suspended by UEFA from four European games for verbally abusing the Europa League final referee in a stadium garage after Roma lost the 2023 final to Sevilla. He was also suspended for his final game at Roma against AC Milan in January 2024.

The last time Roma had a home game in the Champions League was against Porto in the round of 16 in February 2019. Roma won 2-1 but then lost the return leg 3-1 and was eliminated on 4-3 aggregate.

It's the second straight Champions League match that Mourinho is facing one of his former Italian clubs, after Madrid hung on for a 2-1 win over Inter Milan last month after scoring two early goals.

Gasperini achieved in one season what Mourinho couldn’t over three when he coached Roma to a top four finish during his first campaign with the Giallorossi.

Having moved on after a successful nine-year stay at Atalanta, Gasperini has developed Roma into an attack-minded unit that is the antithesis of Mourinho’s defensive-minded teams.

“José left people with amazing memories and a deep affection for him as a coach,” Gasperini said. “However ours is a different sort of team now — very different from the one that played under Mourinho — even though it hasn’t been that many years.”

Donyell Malen leads Serie A with six goals in six matches and will be looking for redemption after picking up the first red card of his career on Sunday in a 0-0 draw with fellow Champions League side Como.

Malen went on as a second-half substitute for Borussia Dortmund when Madrid beat the German club in the 2024 final for its record-extending 15th Champions League title.

The match at the Stadio Olimpico will also likely mark the 100th Champions League appearance for Kylian Mbappé, who at 27 would become the youngest player to reach the century mark in the competition.

Lionel Messi set the current record at 28 against Roma in September 2015.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe controls the ball during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Roma's Donyell Malen reacts after getting a red card during the Serie A soccer match between Como and Roma, in Como, Italy, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (Tiziano Ballabio/LaPresse via AP)

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho reacts during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho argues with a referee during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho sits on the becnhs before the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump appointee Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, has been asked to resign from her post after coming under severe criticism over allegations she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens, new Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia said Tuesday.

Guilfoyle’s requested departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and President Donald Trump registered his unhappiness with reports about Guilfoyle’s alleged conduct on Monday.

“Well, we’re looking at it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he was considering firing Guilfoyle. “We’re not happy.”

Those comments came a day after The Associated Press, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and will likely decide on her future this week.

Zacharia, in her first press briefing, said Guilfoyle "has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Guilfoyle had resigned.

In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly. But in a statement released late Sunday, her lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from the Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not been paid.

The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations,” they said.

After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. Last week, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

But after another report appeared later, Rubio on Thursday before leaving Athens berated journalists for asking about the allegations, saying he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.

A second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general is looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.

The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.

The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation into Guilfoyle.

Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told guests at a reception that the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.

The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives.

Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to Greece.

Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once married to California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speak during a dedication ceremony at the chancery of the U.S. Embassy, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)