The football world was left divided on Wednesday after José Mourinho, the manager of Benfica, suggested that Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior bore some responsibility for the alleged racist abuse that temporarily halted their Champions League play-off match, a claim that pundits and players have condemned as an attempt to justify the inexcusable.
The incident occurred during the first leg at the Estádio da Luz, which Real Madrid won 1-0. After scoring a stunning goal in the 50th minute, Vinícius was shown a yellow card for his celebration near the corner flag, where objects were thrown from the crowd.
Moments later, the Brazilian approached referee François Letexier to report that he had been racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. Letexier activated UEFA’s anti-racism protocol, leading to a ten-minute halt in play as Vinícius and his teammates briefly left the pitch.
Speaking after the match, Mourinho acknowledged that Vinícius and Prestianni had given him “two completely different” accounts of their exchange. However, the former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager shifted the focus of his criticism toward the behaviour of the 25-year-old forward.
“I told him, when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back,” Mourinho told Amazon Prime. “His talents allow him to do these beautiful things, but unfortunately, he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way”.
When asked directly if he felt Vinícius had incited the crowd and the Benfica players, Mourinho replied: “Yes, I believe so”.
The Benfica manager also defended his club’s character by referencing their legendary striker Eusebio, who was black. “When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club is black,” Mourinho said.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. A stadium where Vinícius plays something happens, always”.
Mourinho’s comments drew immediate and fierce criticism from football analysts. Clarence Seedorf, the former Real Madrid midfielder, accused the Portuguese coach of making a grave error in judgment.
“I have huge respect for Jose as a coach, as a person. I think he’s still emotional. I think he made a big mistake today to justify racist abuse,” Seedorf said on Amazon Prime.
“He’s actually saying that it’s OK, when Vinícius provokes you, to be racist – and I think that is very wrong. We should never, ever justify racial abuse. Vinícius has had enough of that unjustified behaviour from people”.
Thierry Henry, speaking on CBS, echoed this sentiment, accusing Mourinho of attempting to deflect from the core issue. “Mourinho as a coach did deflect the discussion. As soon as we came back, we started to talk about what? The celebration,” Henry said.
“Who cares? I want to know what Prestianni said. That’s when the game stopped, the game didn’t stop because of the celebration. The game stopped because of what Prestianni apparently said”.
Former England international Theo Walcott also expressed his dismay, stating that it was a night Mourinho should have remained silent.
“I love everything Jose Mourinho has done in football but I think he has made a poor decision in that sense. It was maybe the one time we shouldn’t have heard from him, the one night he should not have been in front of the cameras,” Walcott said on Amazon Prime.
Real Madrid players rallied around their teammate. Kylian Mbappe alleged that he had heard Prestianni direct a racist slur at Vinícius “five times” and called for severe punishment. “This player doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” Mbappe stated firmly. “We cannot accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like this”.
England international Trent Alexander-Arnold described the episode as a stain on the sport. “I think what has happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance, as well as an amazing goal,” he said.
“Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace. There is no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting”.
Prestianni has denied the allegations. In a statement on Instagram, he said: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard. I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players”.
Vinícius, who has been the victim of numerous racist attacks during his time in Spain, took to social media to express his frustration.
“Racists are, above all, cowards,” he wrote on Instagram. “They need to put their shirts over their mouths to show how weak they are. I got a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose”.