Kompany Slams Mourinho for Making a Big Mistake with Comment on Vinicius

JAKARTA - Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany says Benfica manager Jose Mourinho made a big mistake by attacking the character of Vinicius Junior after the Real Madrid star accused his opponent of racially insulting him during the Champions League playoff match.

Mourinho stated that Vinicius had provoked the Benfica players with his celebration after scoring the only goal in the match at the Estadio da Luz on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, early in the morning.

Vinicius accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a racial slur during a confrontation after his goal. Prestianni denied making a racist comment in an Instagram post, while Benfica spoke out against a defamation campaign against him.

Referee Francois Letexier activated the anti-racism protocol, stopping the game for 10 minutes, and UEFA began an investigation into the incident.

Mourinho questioned why Vinicius, who is black and has been repeatedly the target of racist abuse in Spain, is so often targeted.

"Something is wrong because it happens in every stadium. The stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens. Always," said Mourinho.

Kompany's comments also made Kompany furious and criticized Mourinho.

"For me, what is worse is what happens after the game," said Kompany, who remembers his own experiences of racism as a young player, including Real Betis fans chanting racist songs at him and his former Anderlecht team-mate Cheick Tiote.

"After the game, you have the leader of an organization, Jose Mourinho, who basically attacks the character of Vinicius Jr., by showing the type of celebration to discredit what Vinicius is doing now."

"For me, in terms of leadership, it was a big mistake. It's something we shouldn't have accepted. I'm very clear about that."

"One thing you can't do is ignore someone and attack someone's character who complains about something they've experienced, something that must have been very painful for that person. There's something to be done."

"I know 100 people who have worked with Jose Mourinho. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about Jose."

"I understand he fights for his team and his club. You can't be a bad person and all the ex-players who have worked with you speak so positively about you."

"I don't need to judge him as a person, but I know what I've heard. I understand maybe what he's done, but he's made a mistake," Kompany said.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has written to UEFA and FIFA stressing the need to identify and punish anyone guilty of racially abusing Vinicius.

Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa said in a press conference on Friday, February 20, 2026, that Vinicius was still angry about the incident.

"Vini Jr. is upset, as are we all. Above all, he is very angry at what happened. This is a racist act that has no place in our sport or society."

"We have a tremendous opportunity to not let this pass and continue to fight against this scourge of racism. What really matters is fighting against actions like the one we saw a few days ago."

"This is an intolerable situation, which we do not want to see happen again. We will oppose it, especially when it involves fellow professionals."

"This is an action that should not and should not happen. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can justify racist actions," said Arbeloa.

It is reported that the UEFA investigation, which is led by an ethics and disciplinary investigator, could take up to three weeks to complete.

That means Vinicius and Prestianni could face each other again in the second leg of the Champions League playoff at the Santiago Bernabeu in the middle of next week, with the case still unresolved.

Benfica return to action in the domestic competition against the bottom team of the Primeira Liga, AVS, on Sunday, February 22, 2026, early morning WIB, which according to Mourinho is his main focus, while admitting in an interview with Benfica's internal television channel that the conversation about the impact of the incident will not end there.

"It's not easy to manage the emotions, everything that has happened and continues to happen," Mourinho said.