Vincent Kompany Condemns Mourinho Comments, Defends Vinicius Jr
· Yahoo Sports
Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany delivered a powerful and emotionally charged press conference today, addressing the fallout from the heated Benfica vs Real Madrid clash, the racism towards Vinicius Jr, and Jose Mourinho’s post-match comments.
Kompany did not hold back.
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In a clear defense of Vinicius Jr, Kompany criticized Mourinho for questioning the Brazilian’s character by referencing his celebrations in the wake of the incident.
“After the game you have 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.”
For Kompany, the issue goes beyond rivalry or post-match emotion — it touches on responsibility and leadership.
“For me, in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept.”
Wow. Hats off. Words wrapped in absolute GOLD. I don’t think it can be explained any better than this.
— Mehedi Hassan (@MHassanFootball) February 20, 2026
Respect to Kompany and Bayern Munich.
🙏pic.twitter.com/bCAzdCfgSr
Kompany Challenges Mourinho’s Use of Eusebio
Mourinho reportedly referenced Benfica legend Eusebio as evidence that the Portuguese club is not racist. Kompany strongly rejected that logic, calling it historically naive and dismissive of the realities Black players faced — and continue to face.
“Do you know what black players had to go through in the 1960s?” added the former Manchester City captain and Burnley boss.
He continued:
“Was he (Mourinho) 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 10 times better in order to get a little bit of credit for people to say ‘actually, he is good’.
“That was Eusebio’s life.”
“Emotionally Difficult” After the 51st Minute
The Bayern manager also reflected on the match itself, describing it as fiercely competitive before the alleged incident shifted the emotional temperature of the evening.
“The game was truly demanding in every aspect,” he said. “Up until the 50th minute, it was a great game, extremely demanding, both physically and tactically.
“But then, I also have to acknowledge, that 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.”
Celebration vs. Alleged Abuse
One of Kompany’s strongest points centered on what he sees as a dangerous distraction: focusing on Vinicius’ celebrations instead of the alleged racist remarks directed at him.
“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 and the referee has to leave the country under protection,” he added.
A Nuanced View of Mourinho
Despite his strong criticism, Kompany stopped short of attacking Mourinho personally. In fact, he went out of his way to acknowledge the Portuguese coach’s reputation among former players.
“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.”
When racism happens you can start to tell really quick what people’s characters are when they speak about it. It exposes a lot of people, but it’s also a chance to see some really intelligent people speak about the issue, like Kompany today.
— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) February 20, 2026