Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has strongly criticised José Mourinho’s handling of the alleged racist incident involving Vinícius Júnior, saying the Portuguese manager’s comments were “not a good example” of leadership.
The controversy stems from an altercation between Vinícius Júnior and Gianluca Prestianni during a recent match between Real Madrid and Benfica. Vinícius accused Prestianni of calling him “monkey” after the Brazilian forward scored and celebrated near the Benfica corner flag.
Speaking on the matter on Bayern and Germany on X , Kompany ; who was born in Belgium to a Congolese father said football must not tolerate such behaviour, particularly at this stage of the modern game.
“After the game, you have the leader of an organisation, José Mourinho, attacking the character of Vinícius by bringing up his celebration to discredit what he is saying. In terms of leadership, that is a huge mistake and something we should not accept,”
Mourinho had referenced Benfica legend Eusébio in his defence, suggesting Benfica could not be racist given the club’s historic icon. Kompany rejected that reasoning, highlighting the historical struggles of Black players in European football.
“To use Eusébio’s name to make a point about Vinícius ; who is finally in a position to speak out is wrong. Do we know what Black players had to go through in the 1960s? Many stayed silent because they had no choice,” he added.
Kompany also dismissed suggestions that Vinícius exaggerated the incident.
“His reaction cannot be faked. You can see it is emotional. There is no benefit for him to go to the referee and put himself in that situation. I believe he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do.
He further pointed to the reaction of teammate Kylian Mbappé, who publicly supported Vinícius’ account of events.
However, Kompany acknowledged the complexity of such cases, noting that without a clear admission or conclusive evidence, investigations can be difficult.
The Belgian coach emphasised that incidents like this must be viewed in three parts: what happens on the pitch, the behavior of fans, and the response after the match.
“There are clear separations we need to make ; what happens during the game, what happens with the fans, and what happens afterwards. Leadership matters in all three moments.
Meanwhile, Benfica will travel to the Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off against Real Madrid on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, trailing 1–0 from the first leg.
