José Mourinho leaves no detail to chance inside Real Madrid, right down to the way his players deal with referees. The Portuguese coach has devised a special plan to handle the new regulations that restrict the right to speak with the match official to team captains, picking France's Aurélien Tchouaméni as the link between the players and the referees on the pitch.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", the new rules have forced Mourinho to rearrange roles within the squad and set up a clear mechanism for communicating with officials. His goalkeeper holds the first captain's armband, but he can hardly roam the pitch to speak with them.
With Federico Valverde out injured and Vinícius Júnior suspended, both of them Real Madrid captains, Mourinho handed Tchouaméni official status as the only player on the pitch, alongside the team captain, authorised to speak with the referee.
The rules leave no room for interpretation. Any other player who approaches the referee to pressure him, gesture at him or object to his decisions, away from the captain and Tchouaméni, faces a direct yellow card.
Picking the French midfielder was no accident. His position in the heart of the pitch keeps him close to the flashpoints and challenges, and he can step in whenever a word with the referee is needed.
Mourinho trusts Tchouaméni's experience and composure for the job, relaying the team's objections and demands in a way that blends respect with firmness. That makes the French midfielder a kind of "shadow captain" for the Portuguese coach, his official voice on the pitch when dealing with the referees.