Jose Mourinho has been slammed for his comments after Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr suffered alleged racist abuse during a match.
Last night (17 February) Mourinho's Benfica hosted Real Madrid in the Champions League play offs, with Vini Jr putting the visitors ahead with a stunning goal.
However the moment was overshadowed by a racist comment allegedly made towards the Brazilian national by Benfica player and Argentinian national Gianluca Prestianni, leading to the Real Madrid team walking off the pitch for 10 minutes.
The match eventually resumed, however Benfica manager Mourinho has now been condemned for his comments regarding the incident, with the 63-year-old claiming: "A stadium where Vinícius plays something happens, always."
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Speaking to Prime Video after the match, the Portuguese manager initially appeared to criticise Vinícius for the method in which he celebrated the goal.
"It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal in a good game. These talents are able to do these beautiful things but unfortunately he [Vinícius] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and then the game was over," he said.
"When you score a goal like that you celebrate in a respectful way."
Then asked to clarify if he was saying that the celebration had incited the crowd and Benfica's players, he replied: "Yes. I believe so. Then the words that they exchange Gianluca Prestianni with Vinícius I want to be an independent."
Asked to address the alleged racist comments, Mourinho then added: "I saw two completely different things. I want to be independent, and I don't comment about it. I told him [Vinícius] exactly that.
"I told him when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person [Eusebio] in the history of this club was black.
"This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that – this in Benfica. They [Vinícius and Gianluca Prestianni] told me different things. But I don't believe in one or another. I want to be an independent."
However Mourinho's most controversial comment saw the manager appear to suggest there is an allegation of racism wherever Vinícius Jr plays.
"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium," he said. "A stadium where Vinícius plays something happens, always."
He continued: "Look, I am saying it was a good 50 minutes of football. I believe millions of people are watching around the world – a crazy goal and then game over."
His comments were criticised by pundits Wayne Rooney, Clarence Seedorf and Theo Walcott in the studio. "Jose made a huge mistake today by justifying racism," Seedorf said.
"We should never ever justify racist abuse. Mourinho would agree with me but he expressed himself unfortunately."
Walcott reacted by saying it was the one night in which Mourinho shouldn't have spoken to the press, while Rooney called his comments towards Vinícius 'unfair'.
Meanwhile, Vinicius has since addressed the incident on social media, condemning the incident. "Racists are, above all, cowards," the forward wrote on his Instagram stories, translated from Portuguese.
"They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.
"But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team's life."
Touching on the yellow card he received for his goal celebration, he added: "I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose."
Prestianni has also responded to the incident, denying the allegations of racism in a statement on Instagram.
"I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard," Prestianni wrote.
"I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."
Brenna Cooper