Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has criticized Jose Mourinho for attacking the character of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior. Accused of racially insulting the other person During a Champions League match.
Benfica coach Mourinho suggested that Brazilian forward Vinicius encouraged his players with congratulations after scoring the only goal of the match. tuesday playoff game.
Vinicius accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a “monkey” during a post-goal confrontation.
Mourinho also questioned why Vinicius, who is black and has repeatedly suffered racist insults in Spain, was targeted so often.
“It happens in every stadium, so there’s something wrong with it,” Mourinho said. “Something happened in the stadium where Vinicius played. It always has.”
In his press conference on Friday, Kompany criticized Mourinho’s comments.
“After the game, Jose Mourinho, the leader of the organization, came out and launched a celebration that attacked Vinicius Junior’s character and undermined what Vinicius is doing at this moment,” Kompany said. “To me, from a leadership perspective, this is a huge mistake and should not be accepted.”
Mourinho’s celebration
UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence about what happened in Lisbon during Madrid’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs. Madrid said it had sent “all available evidence” regarding the incident to European football’s governing body.
“You should celebrate with respect,” Mourinho said, referring to Vinicius’ celebration after scoring the ball into the top corner.
Kompany pointed to Mourinho’s own history of enthusiastic celebrations. For example, when Porto’s team defeated Manchester United in the Champions League, he ran down the sideline to cheer.
Kompany said Mourinho’s former players “love” him, adding: “We know he is a good person.”
“I don’t need to criticize him as a human being, but I know what I heard. I understand what he probably did, but he made a mistake. I hope something like this doesn’t happen again in the future,” he said.
Prestiani denied racially insulting Vinicius. Benfica announced that the Argentine player was the victim of a “defamation campaign”.
“The right thing to do”
Kompany said Vinicius’ reaction “cannot be faked.”
“As you can see, his reaction is an emotional reaction. I don’t think there’s any benefit to him going to the referee and putting all this misery on his shoulders,” he said. “There is absolutely no reason for Vini Jr. to do something like this.
“I think in his mind he’s doing more because it’s the right thing to do in that moment.”
Kompany added: “There are players who are complaining. There are players who say they didn’t do it. And I think it’s difficult unless the players themselves come forward. It’s a difficult case.”
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