Benfica coach José Mourinho claimed Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. provoked the racist insult from Gianluca Prestianni soon after the UEFA Champions League game earlier this week. Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has now slammed the Portuguese manager for his comments.
Vincent Kompany Hits Out at Jose Mourinho
Vinicius Jr scored a stunning goal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs this week when Real Madrid traveled to face Benfica. The Brazilian celebrated with his dance, but it was followed by Prestianni, who allegedly racially insulted the winger.
Mourinho made things worse with his comments after the match, saying that there is a reason why Vinicius Jr has been at the center of such issues in several stadiums. He insisted that the winger should have handled himself better in the celebrations.
Kompany has now hit out at Mourinho, saying that the comments were worse than what happened on the pitch. He said that attacking the character of Vinicius Jr was unacceptable and said:
“For me, even worse, is what happens after the game. After the game, you have the leader of an organization, José Mourinho, who basically attacks the character of Vinícius Jr., by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinícius is doing in this moment. For me, in terms of leadership, it is a huge mistake.”
Kompany went on to add that he had never heard anyone speak badly about Mourinho and was not judging the manager. However, he believes that the Portuguese manager made a huge mistake and said:
“I know 100 people who have worked with José Mourinho. I have never heard a person say anything bad about José. 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 have heard, and I understand maybe what he has done, but he has made a mistake.”
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UEFA has opened an investigation into the incident, but is unlikely to take action before the second leg next week. They are likely to take at least three weeks before the investigation concludes.
Benfica have insisted that Prestianni did not racially insult the Brazilian and stated that a social media campaign has been launched to tarnish their player’s image. The Argentine has also claimed that he did not call Vinicius Jr a monkey.
