Vincent Kompany: ‘His reaction cannot be faked’ — Bayern boss condemns José Mourinho over Vinicius Jr. racism row

Munich — Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has delivered an impassioned, deeply personal condemnation of the aftermath of this week’s Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica, in which Madrid forward Vinicius Junior alleged he was racially abused by Benfica teenager Gianluca Prestianni.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, Kompany — one of only two Black head coaches in this season’s UEFA Champions League — accused Benfica boss José Mourinho of “a huge mistake in leadership” for questioning Vinicius’s credibility and invoking club legend Eusébio to defend his own player.

“I saw it happen live,” Kompany told reporters, choosing to answer in English “so I can be clearer about what I’m saying.” “Vinicius’s reaction cannot be faked. There is absolutely no reason for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders unless he feels it is the right thing to do.”

The former Manchester City captain said Kylian Mbappé’s immediate support of his teammate — “normally always quite diplomatic” — only strengthened his conviction that the Brazilian’s claim should be taken at face value. UEFA halted play while officials reviewed the altercation; no sanction has yet been announced against Prestianni, who denies wrongdoing.

Kompany reserved his sharpest criticism for Mourinho’s post-match remarks. The Portuguese coach mocked Vinicius’s goal celebrations and argued Benfica’s history with Eusébio proved the club “cannot be racist.” “To attack the character of Vinicius Junior by bringing in the type of celebration… in terms of leadership it’s a huge mistake,” Kompany said. “And it’s something we should not accept.”

Turning to Mourinho’s reference to Eusébio, Kompany continued: “You know what Black players had to go through in the 1960s? Was Mourinho there to travel with Eusébio every away game in Europe? Probably at the time the only option they had was to be quiet, to be ten times better, to get a little bit of credit.”

The 38-year-old Belgian detailed his own experiences of racism, recounting monkey chants directed at him and the late Cheick Tioté during a 2005 Betis-Sevilla derby, and more recently being called “brown monkeys” while coaching at Club Brugge. “I have a voice,” he said. “So what do you think for people without a voice?”

Kompany insisted he was not questioning Mourinho’s character — “I’ve never heard a player say anything bad about José” — but urged the Roma coach to recognise the damage caused by dismissing a complaint of racist abuse. “I know he’s a good person… but he’s made a mistake. Hopefully in the future it won’t happen like this again.”

The Bayern boss ended with a plea for nuance: an admission of wrongdoing, he argued, should open the door to education rather than perpetual division. “We are taking away all these options because we are creating left or right and black and white… You need the one thing you can’t do: punish someone unfairly, or dismiss a person who’s complaining about something that must be very painful.”

UEFA is expected to conclude its investigation within days; Mourinho has yet to respond to Kompany’s remarks.