Vinicius scored in Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica before alleging racial abuse from Gianluca Prestianni
Jose Mourinho suggested Vinicius provoked opponents with his celebrations
Vincent Kompany labelled those comments a “huge mistake” from a leader and defended Vinicius
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has criticised Jose Mourinho after the Benfica manager complained about Vinicius Junior’s conduct during the UEFA Champions League play-off first-leg match against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
In the match where Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 in Lisbon, Vinicius scored the only goal before accusing Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him. After curling a shot into the top corner, Vinicius was confronted by the home players.
The Madrid forward later accused Prestianni of calling him “monkey”, which the Benfica winger has denied. UEFA has since appointed a special investigator, with Real Madrid confirming they had submitted “all available evidence” regarding the incident.
Mourinho, however, suggested in his post-match interview that Vinicius had provoked the opponent players and fans. “There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,” Mourinho said. “The stadium where Vinicius played something happened. Always.”
The Benfica head coach took issue with Vinicius’ celebrations, where the Madrid forward danced and appeared to hump the Benfica corner flag. Mourinho said that Vinicius should “celebrate in a respectful way”.
Kompany Calls Out Mourinho
Speaking on Friday in the press conference ahead of Bayern Munich’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt, Kompany criticised the tone of Mourinho’s response.
“So after the game, you have the leader of an organisation, Jose Mourinho, who attacks the character of Vinicius Junior by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinicius is doing in this moment,” Kompany said. “And for me in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake, and it’s something that we should not accept.”
Kompany brought up Mourinho’s own history of animated celebrations on the touchline, including when he sprinted down the sideline after Porto beat Manchester United in the Champions League.
Despite his criticism, Kompany clarified that Mourinho is “a good person” and that the Portuguese manager’s former players “love him”.
“I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I know what I’ve heard,” he said. “I understand maybe what he’s done, but he’s made a mistake, and it’s something that hopefully in the future won’t happen like this again.”
‘Right Thing To Do’: Kompany Defends Vinicius
Kompany also defended Vinicius’ decision to report the alleged racial abuse to the referee, calling out those who questioned the Brazilian’s motive.
“You can see it – his reaction is an emotional reaction. I don’t see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders,” Kompany said. “There is absolutely no reason for Vini Junior to go and do this. I think in his mind, he’s doing it more because it’s the right thing to do in that moment.”
However, Kompany wasn’t hopeful about the issue being resolved soon. “You have a player who’s complaining. You have a player who says he didn’t do it,” he said. “And I think unless the player himself comes forward, it’s difficult. It’s a difficult case.”
(With AP Inputs)
