Jose Mourinho states the "unthinkable" as he blames Vinicius Junior for the racism incident in the Champions League

Jose Mourinho has been accused of justifying racist abuse against Vinicius Junior.  (Image credits – Heute; licence details)  

Real Madrid secured a tight 1-0 victory over Jose Mourinho's Benfica in the UEFA Champions League playoffs first leg. Vinicius Jr scored a sensational winner, but the whole game was overshadowed by an alleged racism controversy targeting the Brazilian forward.

Vinicius gave the visitors the lead just after thirty minutes when he curled in a sensational goal into the top corner, giving the keeper absolutely no chance to save it. After scoring, he danced in front of the corner flag celebrating the goal and was also booked for doing that.

Shortly afterwards, things got heated between Vinicius and Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni, and it stopped the game for almost ten minutes. The Brazilian alleged that Prestianni had directed racial slurs at him while covering his face under the jersey. 

Benfica have denied the allegations against the 20-year-old. He defended himself on social media, claiming that he has been misunderstood by the Brazilian forward and his teammates. The Portuguese club stated that Prestianni was too far away from Vinicius, and it was not possible for the Brazilian to hear anything. Vinicius Jr, along with Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde, took to social media to slam the 20-year-old winger.

“Not so special one?”: Jose Mourinho accused of justifying racist remarks on Vinicius

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho has been slammed for justifying the alleged racist remarks against Vinicius Junior, who scored the winner for Real Madrid. The game had been stopped for almost ten minutes as per UEFA anti-racism rules.

The Portuguese international wasn't happy with the way Vinicius celebrated after scoring his goal and felt that it was disrespectful. He also felt that the Brazilian instigated the crowd with his celebrations.

“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way," said Mourinho following the game. (sic)

He further added, '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, it was Benfica. They told me different things. But I don't believe in one or another. I want to be independent.”  (sic)

Mourinho was severely criticised by several pundits and former players for allegedly justifying racist abuse. Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf did not expect ‘the special one’ to justify racist remarks by blaming Vinicius for provoking acts.

Jamie Carragher slammed Mourinho, calling him a hypocrite, as he celebrates however he likes, but when it comes to Vinicius, it's provocation. 

"Do you remember him running down the sideline at Old Trafford [celebrating Costinha's goal for FC Porto]? I remember Mourinho, in a Cup final against Liverpool, when Chelsea scored a late goal, telling the Liverpool fans to shut up. How many times has he put his hands to his ears at opponents? So, it's a bit hypocritical of him to criticise Vinicius," said the former Liverpool defender.

Former Arsenal player Theo Walcott and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney were also disappointed with Jose for justifying the reaction by his players.