Vincent Kompany has delivered a passionate rebuke of Jose Mourinho’s remarks following the alleged racist abuse directed at Vinicius Jr during Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Benfica on Tuesday evening.
The Bayern Munich manager spoke for more than ten minutes at his pre-match press conference on Friday, describing the Benfica boss’s post-match comments as “a huge mistake” and “something that we should not accept”.
The incident occurred after Vinicius netted the winning goal in Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory. The Brazilian was cautioned for his celebration before play was suspended for approximately ten minutes when he reported alleged racist remarks from Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni.
Uefa has subsequently launched an investigation into the allegations, which Prestianni has denied.
Kompany chose to respond in English at his press conference ahead of Bayern’s fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt “so I can be a bit clearer about what I’m saying”.
The former Manchester City captain took particular issue with Mourinho, citing Benfica legend Eusebio as evidence the Portuguese club has no racism problem.
Kompany asked: “Do you know what black players had to go through in the 1960s?
“Was he there to travel with Eusebio to every away game?”
Vincent Kompany has delivered a passionate rebuke of Jose Mourinho’s remarks
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The Belgian manager suggested players of that era had little choice but to remain silent in the face of discrimination.
He said: “Probably at the time the only option they had was to be quiet, to say nothing, be above it and to be 10 times better in order to get a little bit of credit for people to say ‘actually, he is good’. That was Eusebio’s life.”
Kompany was careful to acknowledge Mourinho’s standing within football.
He noted he knows numerous people who have worked with the Portuguese manager and has never heard anyone speak negatively about him.
Jose Mourinho has faced fierce backlash following his response to Vinicius Jr’s racism allegation
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REUTERSKompany said: “I understand he is fighting for his team and his club. You cannot be a bad person and have all the ex players you have had talk so positively about you.
“I don’t need to judge him as a person but I know what I’ve heard. And I understand maybe what he has done, but he has made a mistake.”
The Bayern boss also highlighted Mourinho’s own history of provocative behaviour, referencing his famous knee slide celebration at Old Trafford, his gestures towards Barcelona supporters during a Champions League semi-final with Inter Milan, and an altercation with a referee during Roma’s match against Sevilla.
Former South Africa striker Benni McCarthy echoed the criticism, telling the BBC Mourinho’s statement was “very wrong” while suggesting emotions had got the better of him.
Vinicius Jr has been vocal about racism in Spain | ReutersMcCarthy said: “I know the statement he made was very wrong. But we’re all human, we all make mistakes.”
He said he hopes Mourinho will publicly acknowledge his error.
McCarthy, who knows Mourinho personally, described him as “the most stand-up guy that any African player will ever play for”.
Vinicius, who has faced multiple racist incidents throughout his career, responded on Instagram: “Racists are, above all, cowards.”
Benfica have defended Prestianni, claiming there is a “defamation campaign” against the Argentine, who faces a potential minimum ten-match European ban if found guilty.
