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Kompany attacks Mourinho over Vinicius Jr incident: ‘Do you know what Black players had to go through?’

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Vincent Kompany has issued strong criticism of Jose Mourinho over his reaction to Vinicius Jr’s accusation of alleged racist abuse in a Champions League play-off between Benfica and Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Kompany, the Bayern Munich manager, used a press conference to give an impassioned speech which drew on his own experiences of racism in football, and said Mourinho had made a “huge mistake” by “attacking the character” of Vinicius in the aftermath.

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Vinicius accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, a 20-year-old Argentina international, of calling him a “monkey” in the wake of the Brazilian’s second-half goal for Madrid. The claims were backed up by his teammate Kylian Mbappe, who said he heard the abuse by Prestianni, who could be seen holding his shirt over his mouth during an exchange with Madrid players.

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Vinicius reacted furiously to something said by Prestianni and alerted the match officials. The French referee, Francois Letexier, paused the game for 11 minutes after activating Fifa’s anti-racism protocols, although the action later continued with Prestianni on the field.

Fans inside the Estadio Da Luz loudly booed and jeered Vinicius throughout the remainder of the game, as Real Madrid saw out a 1-0 victory.

Prestianni now faces an investigation by Uefa. He has denied racially abusing Vinicius and claimed to have been misheard.

Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth when speaking to Vinicius Jr (AFP/Getty)

Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth when speaking to Vinicius Jr (AFP/Getty)

After the match, Benfica manager Mourinho blamed Vinicius for the confrontation and said the Brazilian had incited his players because he did not celebrate in a “respectful way”. Mourinho also claimed Benfica could not be considered guilty of racism because the club’s greatest player, Eusebio, was Black.

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“I told him that when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back,” Mourinho said, of his conversation with Vinicius after the game. “And then when he was arguing about racism I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was Black. This club, the last thing it is is racist, so if in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.

“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays, something happens. Always.”

Bayern Munich manager Kompany was asked for his take on the incident ahead of his team’s weekend game in the Bundesliga, and he responded with a long answer in which he defended Vinicius and tore into Mourinho’s response.

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“When you watch the action itself and how Vini reacted, that reaction cannot be faked,” Kompany said. “You can see it was an emotional reaction. I don’t see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders. In that moment he saw that it was the right thing to do.

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“Kylian Mbappe normally always stays diplomatic, but he was very clear about what he saw and heard. Then there’s the Benfica player who was hiding what he was saying in his shirt. In the stadium you can see there were people [Benfica fans] doing monkey signs, it’s in the video.

“And for me, what happened after the game is even worse. Jose Mourinho has basically attacked the character of Vini Jr by bringing in the type of Vini’s celebration to discredit what he was doing at that moment. It was a huge mistake in terms of leadership.

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“On top of that, Mourinho mentioned the name of Eusebio. He said Benfica cannot be racist because their best ever player was Eusebio. Do you know what Black players had to go through in the 60s? Was he there to travel with Eusebio every away game and see what he went through?”

Jose Mourinho confronts Vincius Jr after the incident in Lisbon (AP)

Jose Mourinho confronts Vincius Jr after the incident in Lisbon (AP)

Kompany said Mourinho has a positive reputation in the game and is “deep down a good person”, but suggested the Benfica manager had made a serious misjudgement with his reaction.

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“I met 100 people who worked with Jose Mourinho. I’ve never heard someone say something bad about Jose. All his players love him. I understand the person he is, I understand he fights for his club. I know deep down he’s a good person. I don’t need to judge him on that. But I also know what I’ve heard. I understand what he’s done, but he made a mistake. Hopefully it won’t happen again in the future, and we can move on together.”

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The Vikings’ Jordan Addison Decision Speaks for Itself

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Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison during pregame warmups before a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) stands on the field during pregame warmups before facing the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 5, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. Addison prepared with teammates ahead of the NFC matchup as Minnesota finalized its offensive approach before kickoff. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports.

The Minnesota Vikings will exercise the fifth-year option on receiver Jordan Addison’s contract. One of the offseason mysteries in Minnesota was concluded when interim general manager Rob Brzezinski broke the news during a media appearance on Monday. 

Fifth-Year Option Signals Vikings’ Long-Term Plan at Wide Receiver

It should have been a simple decision with Addison proving himself a very capable wide receiver since being drafted in the first round back in 2023. He had a down season last year, but the entire Vikings offense did as well, as the team battled through quarterback problems.

Addison has almost been the perfect number two to Justin Jefferson. Many WRs drafted in the first round might let their ego get in the way of being a clear WR2, but. Addison has quietly gotten on with his game — caught passes, scored touchdowns, and has often been most impressive when Jefferson has been absent, and he had to take on the WR1 mantle. Addison stands out as one of the few successful draft picks of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era and has performed his role on the Vikings offense almost perfectly.

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vikings jordan addison fifth-year option
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison heads toward the sideline after the final whistle at Soldier Field, with the road matchup offering little momentum to close the afternoon. On Nov 24, 2024, Chicago controlled the tempo, leaving Minnesota searching for answers late as Addison exited following another grind-it-out divisional contest. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

Where Addison hasn’t been so quiet is away from football. Finding himself in trouble with the law has become an annual offseason occurrence, and he has to stop.

Thankfully, this year’s more minor indiscretion won’t lead to a three-game ban like the one he received at the start of last season. This is where some doubt arises about committing to Addison long-term. It likely rules out an early extension, but picking up the fifth-year option was absolutely the right thing to do.

To quote Brzezinski, “He’s a really important player for impact player and us.” He is key to a Vikings offense that looks a bit light on playmakers as we head towards the draft.

Two Important Years Ahead

Addison now knows he will be in Minnesota for the next two seasons, and they will be two important years not only for his career but also for his life as a Vikings WR. The shenanigans need to stop. There have never been any problems during the football season, but next year he needs a quiet offseason. Before all that, he needs a good year on the field.

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Arguably, no one was affected more by the Vikings’ offensive troubles last season. Addison had career lows in targets (79), receptions (42), receiving yards (610), and touchdowns. Even accounting for the three games missed due to suspension, those numbers are low, with his yards per game (43.6) also down from previous seasons.

Jordan Addison celebrates first down vs. Titans at Nissan Stadium.
Jordan Addison celebrated a first down during first-half action on Nov 17, 2024, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, wearing number 3, pumped up teammates and fans after moving the chains against the Tennessee Titans as Minnesota’s offense found momentum in the road matchup. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.

Addison also had an issue with dropped catches, totaling seven, which matches the number he had in his first two seasons combined. There was a team-wide endemic at one point, to the point you had to question whether a lack of confidence in the accuracy of the passes coming their way was having an effect.

Kyler Murray has been signed to try to ensure that accuracy from the QB won’t be a problem this season. Addison, who has yet to surpass 1000 receiving yards in a season, will want to break that barrier in the next couple of seasons. He has enough talent to be a WR1 on some teams, and when the time comes to sign that first big contract, there are a couple of things he needs.

Firstly, he has a big 1000+ receiving yards season under his belt, and secondly, he has shown maturity off the field over the next couple of years. The Vikings’ decision to exercise the fifth-year option was the correct one. If he does the things just mentioned, then the next correct decision will be a contract extension — when the time is right.


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Proud UK Viking. Family Man. Enjoy writing about my team. Away from football an advocate for autism acceptance.

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Liv Morgan reacts to Judgment Day member’s hilarious message ahead of SmackDown

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Liv Morgan reacted to a Judgment Day member’s hilarious message ahead of tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown. Morgan will be competing in a major title match at WrestleMania later this month in Las Vegas.

Raquel Rodriguez shared a hilarious Instagram update today featuring several videos. A couple of the videos featured her parrot, and another one showed her shouting at the crowd at a WWE event about how much Dominik Mysterio and Morgan loved each other. You can check out her hilarious Instagram post below.

“Just for fun 😎 sound on 📳,” she said.

Liv Morgan reacted to Rodriguez’s post and shared that she was cracking up. You can check out Morgan’s message in the image below.

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“I am crackinnnnnnng up,” she wrote.

Morgan responded to her stablemate's post today (Source: Raquel Rodriguez on Instagram)Morgan responded to her stablemate's post today (Source: Raquel Rodriguez on Instagram)
Morgan responded to her stablemate’s post today (Source: Raquel Rodriguez on Instagram)

The 31-year-old won the Women’s Royal Rumble match earlier this year in Saudi Arabia and will be challenging Stephanie Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship at WWE WrestleMania 42. Vaquer captured the title by defeating IYO SKY at Wrestlepalooza 2025.

Current WWE champion calls out Liv Morgan for a dream match

A major WWE champion recently called out Liv Morgan for a dream match in the promotion.

Speaking with Tim Hann Rivera, NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne named Morgan as her dream opponent. The champion noted that they were both from New Jersey and suggested that they would have good chemistry with each other in the ring. Jayne added that the two stars had never worked together in the past.

“I’d love to work with Liv Morgan. We’re both from Jersey. We have very similar styles. I feel like we would just have really good chemistry. I’ve never actually touched her or wrestled with her, but I just have a feeling that we would have a really great connection,” Jayne said.

Jacy Jayne says a dream match of hers is Liv Morgan: “I’d love to work Liv Morgan. We’re both from Jersey. We have very similar styles. I feel like we would just have really good chemistry. I’ve never actually touched her or wrestled with her but I just have a feeling that we

Morgan is in a storyline relationship with Dominik Mysterio on RAW. The Judgment Day recently betrayed Finn Balor and kicked him out of the faction. Mysterio and Balor will be squaring off in a singles match at WrestleMania 42. It will be interesting to see if Morgan can defeat Vaquer to become the new Women’s World Champion at The Show of Shows.

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