Vincent Kompany: Bayern Munich boss says Jose Mourinho made 'huge mistake' with comments on Vinicius Jr over alleged racism

Vincent Kompany believes Benfica manager Jose Mourinho made a "huge mistake" with his comments on Vinicius Jr.

On Tuesday, the Real Madrid forward briefly refused to return to the field after suffering alleged racial abuse from Gianluca Prestianni after scoring during a Champions League game in Lisbon.

UEFA has appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident but Sky Sports News has been told the process could take up to three weeks to conclude.

Post-match, Mourinho suggested it was Vinicius who had instigated the home fans with his celebration following the goal, saying: "When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way." He followed that up by adding: "There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always."

Mourinho has been widely criticised for his remarks in the aftermath, and on Friday, Bayern Munich boss Kompany slammed the Portuguese's comments.

Kompany said: "You have the leader of an organisation, Jose Mourinho, who attacks the character of Vinicius Jr by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinicius is doing in this moment.

"In terms of leadership, it's a huge mistake and something we should not accept.

"I met 100 people who worked with Jose Mourinho. I've never heard a person say anything bad about Jose. All his players that played with him, they love him. I understand the person he is. I understand he is fighting for his team, for his club and he's made that decision.

"You cannot be a bad person and have all the ex-players you've had talk so positively about you. I know he's a good person. I don't need to judge him as a person but I also know what I've heard and I understand maybe what he's done, but he made a mistake. Hopefully it won't happen again in the future, and we can move forward and grow and look at the things that we can do together rather than things that constantly separate us."

In his comments, Mourinho appeared to cite Eusebio - a legendary figure at Benfica - as proof that those associated with the club could not be racist, a claim to which Kompany also responded.

"On top of it he [Mourinho] mentions the name of Eusebio, to say that Benfica cannot be racist because the best player in the history of Benfica is Eusebio," Kompany said.

"Do you know what black players had to go through in the 60s? Was he there to travel with Eusebio every away game and see what he went through, every place in Europe?

"Today, to use his name to make a point about Vini Jr who's actually, finally in a situation where he can say something about it … there are a lot of players in different leagues in Europe who don't have a voice. There are players in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia if something happens to them and they are black players they have zero chance to have any kind of support."

At a passionate press conference, Kompany referenced Mourinho's infamous celebration at Old Trafford while in charge of Porto and his clash with referee Anthony Taylor during the 2023 Europa League final where he was charged with using 'insulting/abusive language against a match official', with Taylor later subjected to abuse from fans.

Kompany said: “When Jose Mourinho is doing the knee slide at Old Trafford, because he attacked the celebration of Vini Jr, when he goes to the fans in a semi-final of Inter Milan vs Barcelona and he goes in front of the Barcelona fans and does his celebration, when he plays against Sevilla with AS Roma and is fighting with the referees and they have to leave the country under protection after that game... in that moment if someone was racist to Mourinho, I would have hoped that all of us would have said ‘stop', it doesn’t matter his celebration, let’s listen to what he has to say and let’s defend some simple things, some core things."

When asked what he would like to see happen off the back of the incident, Kompany admitted he would hope that Prestianni, who has denied any wrongdoing, would be given a platform to apologise if found guilty, as well as serving any punishment.

"My dream is at the end of the situation, if it is true that the player from Benfica said something as bad as what is said, I would love a situation where there is still room where somebody can apologise and say 'I am sorry I made a mistake', and this has an impact on the sentence as well," Kompany said.

"So, the sentence should be A or B, but if you admit that you have made a mistake there should be an opportunity to say, 'hey, nobody is perfect'. This is also a good step. But we are taking away all these options because we are creating left or right, black and white and you have to be one side or the other side."

Mourinho: Not been easy emotionally to deal with everything

Mourinho did not hold a regular pre-match press conference ahead of Benfica's league match against AVS, instead speaking to the club's media.

Mourinho said: "The match was truly demanding in every aspect. Up until the 50th minute, it was a great game, with maximum intensity, be it from a physical standpoint or a tactical standpoint and in the concentration we had to have to play a game of that level.

"But also, I can't fail to acknowledge that, from the 51st minute until now - and it won't end with this conversation - it hasn't been easy emotionally to deal with everything that happened and continues to happen.

"But there's a game tomorrow [Saturday], an important one, a match that, for our ambitions, for our dreams, is essential to win. We have to stay focused and try to perform at the highest level."

Arbeloa: Don't label the victim as the provocateur

Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, speaking later on Friday, paid tribute to Vinicius Jr and insisted he was a "victim" not a "provocateur".

"It was Vinicius' decision to return to the field and keep playing," Arbeloa said. "If Vinicius had said he wouldn't continue playing, we would all have gone inside, one after the other.

"I've told the players there's no title or victory I could achieve with Real Madrid that would make me feel prouder than I did last Tuesday. How all the team-mates reacted at the moment, how they reacted and kept playing, and each and every one of their subsequent statements, there's nothing that makes me prouder than seeing a united team, a team that protects a team-mate.

"It's [the investigation] in the hands of UEFA. They are the first ones who have been fighting against racism for many years, and now they have the perfect opportunity to show that this fight is not just words, by punishing an act like the one we experienced the other day and ensuring it doesn't happen again.

"Vinicius Jr scored an incredible goal, a real stunner on the field. It was phenomenal, fantastic, and he celebrated a goal as we have seen hundreds and hundreds of times from many footballers throughout history, regardless of their status or skin colour.

"I repeat, we cannot label the victim as the provocateur. We cannot. We will not allow it. In my opinion, it is unjustifiable to accuse the victim of being a provocateur."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Vincent Kompany: Bayern Munich boss says Jose Mourinho made 'huge mistake' with comments on Vinicius Jr over alleged racism