Courtois Slams Mourinho Over Vinicius Racism Comments

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has criticised his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho over comments made following an alleged racist incident involving teammate Vinicius Jr.

The controversy came during last week’s Champions League match in Lisbon against Benfica, where Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. The match was briefly halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius initially walked off in protest.

After the game, Mourinho suggested that Vinicius’s celebration after scoring might have provoked the abuse. Courtois, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea from 2013 to 2015, strongly rejected this view.

“The only thing that disappointed me in Mourinho was using Vini’s celebration as an excuse,” Courtois said. “You cannot justify racism over a celebration.”

Courtois also revealed that the Real Madrid team was ready to walk off the pitch in solidarity. “It was Vinicius who decided we should continue playing. If he decided to walk out, we would all have walked out,” he explained.

The goalkeeper expressed full support for Vinicius. “I believe Vini 100 per cent. He never, ever accused any rival player of racism in the past. He 100 per cent heard him say it. Racist insults, homophobic insults, and any offensive insults have no place in the football stadium or anywhere.”

Meanwhile, Prestianni has been given a provisional one-match ban by UEFA and will miss Wednesday’s return game. The Benfica player denies the racism claim, reportedly stating he used a homophobic slur instead, while the club says he covered his mouth during the incident.

Mourinho, who was sent off during the first leg, will also miss the return fixture at the Bernabeu and will not attend pre-match media duties.