France legend Lilian Thuram has laid into Jose Mourinho over his comments after Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Benfica.
The Champions League match was stopped for 10 minutes as the referee enacted anti-racism protocol.
Vinicius Jr accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racism, while Kylian Mbappe said he heard the word ‘monkey’ five times.
Post match Mourinho said Vinicius incited the crowd, and said he remained neutral on the accusations labelled at his player.
In response, World Cup winner Thuram told L’Equipe: “There is a sense of white superiority and narcissism in this judgment.
“The racist act suffered by Vinícius is not related to his behaviour, but to the colour of his skin.
“When you haven’t experienced this because you’re white, you can’t understand, so listen to those who suffer from racism and don’t come and tell them how they should behave, because this behaviour only cultivates your sense of superiority even more.”
Thuram, an avid equal rights activist, rejected the treatment Vinicius and Mbappe received for their statements.
But why don’t we believe these two players? Because the word of Black men isn’t reliable?” he asked.
“This episode says a lot about the history of racism. It’s always the same: you report an act you’ve been a victim of, and it’s you they doubt, just like with women who are victims of violence or rape.”
What did Jose Mourinho say about Vinicius?
Asked if Vinicius incited the crowd post-match, Mourinho said: “Yes. I believe so.
“It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
He added: “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. 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 that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.
“They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.”
Leave a Reply