Having stayed away from the media after being panned for his response to Vinicius Jr’s accusations against Gianluca Prestianni, Jose Mourinho has finally spoken out.
The Benfica coach received strong condemnation from footballing legends like Vincent Kompany and Thierry Henry, and even his former players for his comments after Benfica’s first-leg play-off defeat to Real Madrid.
Mourinho suggested Vinicius incited the crowd before he and Kylian Mbappe accused Prestianni of racism.
Prestianni has since been suspended and so have a number of Benfica fans who were seen making racist gestures.
Mourinho was able to avoid the press, rejecting his pre-match Primeira Liga duties, and then sitting out of the Champions League return leg as his suspension allowed.
Now, ahead of Gil Vicente, he finally opened up on what he’d previously only called a ‘difficult time’.
After a number of softball questions about the next game, Mourinho opted to bring up the matter himself.
No Mourinho apology, but the end for Prestianni
He began: “I’ll answer your question in a moment, but first I have to say that I usually anticipate the questions you’re going to ask me, and I expected others today because I anticipated you talking about the tsunami that has shaken us.
“I anticipate and say that I repudiate any kind of discrimination, prejudice, and ignorance.
“I also advise everyone to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and I say that criticism reflects more on the person making it than on the person being criticised.”
Asked what he will do if Prestianni is found guilty by UEFA, he added: “I love Álvaro [Arbeloa] and I will continue to love him, but I think I took the right position.
“I said I wanted to take a position without defending one side or attacking the other.
“I said I didn’t want to wear either Real Madrid’s white shirt or Benfica’s red shirt in a situation that could potentially be serious.
“That’s why I tell you to read the Declaration of Human Rights and I repudiate any discrimination or prejudice.
“And I also tell you that if it is proven that my player did not respect these principles, which are mine and Benfica’s, that player’s career with coach Mourinho and with Benfica will come to an end.
“I’m not a scholar, but I’m not ignorant either. I presume innocence and always include a ‘what if’.
“Unfortunately, UEFA, to remove the player from the game, preferred to look at article 416328 to remove him from the game, and they went in the direction of not including ‘what ifs’.
“If the player is indeed guilty, I will not look at him the same way again, and that’s it for me. But I have to put many ‘what ifs’ in front of me.”
Mourinho was then surprisingly asked about Lopes Cabral getting abused on social media for requesting Vinicius’ shirt after the return leg.
“I don’t think the jersey was objectionable, but it could have been avoided,” he said.
“I think it’s normal for players to exchange jerseys in games that mark their careers, especially with players they identify with and who are of a stratospheric level, but I think it could have been avoided.
“As for being out, it was frustrating, but I knew I had a prepared team. I watched the game on the bus, with all the technology and four screens at my disposal. What I missed was all the adrenaline of the game.”
Mourinho admits he couldn’t have said no to a Madrid return
Mourinho was then finally asked if he thinks he will stay at Benfica next season, particular given commentators have said his response to Vinicius Jr have ended his chances of a Real Madrid return.
“There’s one thing I control, which is my will and my emotions,” he began,
“You’re all good professionals, but sometimes you let things slip through your fingers, some signs of important things.
“After the problems with the Real Madrid games, you clung to the idea that I had missed an opportunity to return to Real Madrid, you let a sign slip or you weren’t competent enough to seize it.
“You asked me if it was possible to say ‘no’ and I said it was. Do you think I could say no to Florentino if I wanted to return to Real Madrid?
“I have many flaws, but do you think I’m stupid? I was objective in saying I wanted to stay. You just didn’t want to grasp my objectivity. I was the one who implied that I wanted to stay, but you didn’t get it.
“But I only want to stay to play in one league, I don’t want to play in two – the real one and the virtual one. Right now we’re playing in two, the real one and the virtual one, and I only want to play in one. Because I don’t like playing in two leagues.
“But I want to stay and respect my contract with Benfica. If you want to renew, I’ll renew without arguing a single thing. But I only want to… I don’t want to play in two championships.”
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