Jose Mourinho’s feedback on Vinicius Jr’s racism storm are unforgivable hypocrisy
Jose Mourinho’s comments suggest he is justifying racism when it comes to the incident involving Vinicius Jr – and he has to be taken to task
Jose Mourinho accused Vinicius Junior of inciting the Benfica crowd in Lisbon(Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The hypocrisy of Jose Mourinho has plunged to new depths with his response to Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr’s allegation of suffering racist insults from one of his Benfica players.
Here is a man criticising a footballer for celebrating a goal in a provocative way. When he has spent most of his managerial career doing the same thing. Has the world of football ever seen a bigger pantomime villain than the pugnacious Portuguese coach?
Mourinho has been one of the most successful managers of all time. But he has also been one of the most controversial. Losing with dignity just isn’t in his makeup.
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And neither is winning. Mourinho has now accused Vinicius Jr of provoking what appeared to be a racist reaction from Benfica supporters and players, following his winning goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League, play off first leg.
Vinicius left the field in Lisbon after reporting Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni to the referee. The match was paused for 10 minutes before continuing.
But Mourinho being Mourinho, he made sure tensions were ratcheted up. He got himself sent off for two bookings, before tearing into Vinicius in his post match press conference.
“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way”, said Mourinho. This is a bloke who has struggled to appreciate the meaning of respect.
Like when he slid on his knees down the touchline at Old Trafford when Porto scored to beat Manchester United in the Champions League. In front of the great Sir Alex Ferguson, no less.
Like when he put his finger to his lips and told Liverpool supporters to shush, after Chelsea had scored a late goal in a League Cup final against Liverpool.
Mourinho’s crime sheet is a long one. He once got banned from the touchline for poking Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye following an El Clasico.
He hid in a laundry basket to give his side a team talk. He once accused United of cheating following a League Cup semi final, and was fined £200,000, reduced to £75,000, for his role in Ashley Cole’s controversial move from Arsenal to Chelsea.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings He got fined and banned during his time at Inter Milan for making handcuff gestures following the sending off of two of his players during a game against Cordoba. I could go on and on. But perhaps Mourinho has committed his worst offence of all in the wake of Benfica’s loss to Real. Because in suggesting Vinicius provoked the racist attack on him, he is in effect justifying discrimination. And that is unforgivable from anyone, let alone someone who is supposed to set the example and use his position of power and influence as a force for good.
