Vincent Kompany Condemns Mourinho Comments, Defends Vinicius Jr

Munich — Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany used his pre-match media platform on Tuesday to deliver an impassioned rebuke of Jose Mourinho’s post-match remarks about Vinicius Jr, arguing that the Roma manager’s critique of the Brazilian forward’s celebrations deflects attention from the racism the player has endured.

Speaking to reporters at Sabener Strasse, Kompany said he was compelled to speak after hearing Mourinho invoke Benfica icon Eusebio to counter suggestions of institutional racism. “After the game you have the leader of an organisation, Jose Mourinho, who basically attacks the character of Vinicius Jr by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinicius is doing in this moment,” Kompany said. “For me, in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept.”

The former Manchester City captain questioned the historical logic behind Mourinho’s reference, asking rhetorically whether the Portuguese coach had accompanied Eusebio on every away trip in the 1960s. “Was he there to travel with Eusebio to every away game? Probably at the time the only option they had was to be quiet, to say nothing, be above it and to be ten times better in order to get a little bit of credit,” Kompany added.

Kompany, who took over at Bayern this summer after guiding Burnley back to the Premier League, stressed that the focus should remain on the alleged racist abuse aimed at Vinicius rather than the 23-year-old’s goal celebrations. “I’m just thinking when Jose Mourinho is doing the knee slide at Old Trafford, when he does his celebration in front of the Barcelona fans in the Champions League semi-final with Inter Milan, when his Roma are playing Sevilla and he is fighting with the referee,” Kompany said, listing moments when the Portuguese’s own exuberance drew headlines.

While the Belgian manager criticised the timing and tone of Mourinho’s comments, he was careful to separate the act from the individual. “I know 100 people who have worked with Jose Mourinho. I’ve never heard a person say anything bad about Jose. I understand he is fighting for his team and his club. You cannot be a bad person and have all the ex-players you have had talk so positively about you. I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I know what I’ve heard, and I understand maybe what he has done, but he has made a mistake.”

Kompany also reflected on the Benfica-Real Madrid encounter itself, describing the opening 50 minutes as “a great game, extremely demanding, both physically and tactically,” before the alleged incident in the stands shifted the narrative. “From the 51st minute until now — and this won’t end our conversation — it hasn’t been easy to manage emotionally everything that has happened and continues to happen,” he admitted.

Bayern Munich now turn their attention back to domestic and European fixtures, but Kompany’s words ensure the debate over racism, responsibility and leadership will shadow the buildup to the next round of Champions League action.