Former Belgium international and current Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has criticised Benfica coach Jose Mourinho for his handling of the racism controversy involving Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, calling the Portuguese manager’s comments a “huge mistake.”
The incident occurred during Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday. Vinicius, a Brazilian international, accused Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a confrontation on the pitch, claiming the Argentine called him a “monkey.” Vinicius immediately reported the abuse to the referee, highlighting the emotional toll the encounter had on him.
Following the match, Mourinho sparked controversy by criticising Vinicius’ celebration after scoring the winning goal in the first leg of the knockout phase tie. The Benfica coach suggested the celebration provoked his players and the home fans, a comment that drew sharp rebuke from Kompany.
“You have the leader of an organisation, Jose Mourinho, who basically attacks the character of Vinicius Junior by bringing in the type of celebration. To discredit what Vinicius is doing at this moment,” Kompany said at a press briefing on Friday. “And for me, in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept.”
Kompany, reflecting on his own experiences with racism during his playing career, emphasised that Vinicius’ reaction was genuine and emotionally understandable.
“You have Vini Jr, who, when you watch the action itself, his reaction cannot be faked. 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 Jr to go and do this, and he does it, and when he does it, I think in his mind he’s doing it more because it’s the right thing to do in that moment.”
Despite the seriousness of the allegation, Kompany acknowledged the difficulty in proving that Prestianni used racist language unless the player himself admitted it.
“You have a player (Prestianni) who’s hiding what he’s saying in his shirt… You have a player who’s complaining, you have a player who says he didn’t do it, and I think unless the player himself comes forward, it’s difficult. It’s a difficult case,” the Belgian added.
Kompany also called for accountability and growth in how the situation is handled. If Prestianni did use discriminatory language, he said there should be room for apology, and disciplinary bodies should consider any remorse shown.
“If it is true that the player from Benfica has said something as bad as what he said, I would love a situation where there’s still room for someone to apologise. To say ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake,’” he said. “This has an impact on the sentence as well, so the sentence should be A or B. But if you admit that you’ve made a mistake, there should be an opportunity as well to say that hey, nobody’s perfect.”
Turning back to Mourinho, Kompany added that he had “never heard a person say anything bad” about the Portuguese coach and would not judge him solely on this incident.
“He’s made a mistake. Hopefully in the future it won’t happen like this again and that we can move forward and grow,” Kompany concluded.
The incident is now under investigation by UEFA, which confirmed it would look into “allegations of discriminatory behaviour” following the match. The outcome of the inquiry could have implications for both Prestianni and Benfica, while also reigniting debates around leadership and accountability in European football.
