Kompany Blasts Mourinho Over Vinicius Response as Bayern Boss Draws on Own Racism Battle

Vincent Kompany cut an emotional figure at his Friday press conference as he waded into the row surrounding Vinicius Junior's experience of alleged racist abuse during Tuesday's Champions League encounter at Benfica.

The incident saw Vinicius report a racial slur allegedly directed at him by Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni, prompting the referee to halt proceedings for ten minutes in accordance with UEFA protocol. What followed, however, has proven almost as contentious as the original offence.

Jose Mourinho, Benfica's manager, faced considerable backlash for appearing to deflect blame onto the Real Madrid winger, suggesting his post-goal celebration bore some responsibility for the atmosphere. The response has been widely criticised as particularly damaging given Vinicius finds himself battling yet another racism controversy.

Kompany, speaking ahead of Bayern's fixture, deployed his platform to defend both Vinicius and teammate Kylian Mbappe while drawing parallels to his own harrowing experiences with racial abuse throughout his career.

"When you watch his reaction, it cannot be faked," Kompany said of Vinicius. "There's no benefit for him approaching the referee with this. He does it because it's the right thing to do in that moment."

The Bayern boss acknowledged Mbappe's diplomatic nature before emphasising the Brazilian's clarity about what transpired on the pitch and in the stands, where supporters made monkey gestures.

Kompany reserved his sharpest criticism for Mourinho's post-match intervention. "After the game, you have the leader of an organisation attacking the character of Vinicius Junior by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what he's doing in this moment," Kompany explained. "In terms of leadership, it's a huge mistake. It's something we should not accept."

The former Manchester City skipper then recounted his own painful encounters with racism. Two decades earlier, whilst playing for Anderlecht against Real Betis alongside Cheick Tiote, both teenagers faced Ku Klux Klan chants and monkey noises from supporters. Kompany scored that evening, and he posed the question: was that celebration also responsible?

More recently, during his managerial stint at Club Brugge, Kompany and his backroom staff endured being called "brown monkeys," with subsequent complaints seemingly buried beneath political manoeuvring rather than resulting in meaningful consequences.

"I have a voice," Kompany stressed. "What do you think for the people without a voice?"

He drew a distinction between the incident itself and the machinery that subsequently activates to suppress the story. Whilst acknowledging Mourinho's character and his commitment to his side, Kompany was unequivocal: "He's made a mistake."

"Hopefully in the future this won't happen like this again, and we can move forward and grow," Kompany concluded. "Look at the things we can do together rather than the things that constantly separate us."