Former Manchester United player Mikael Silvestre has claimed Jose Mourinho has “failed us” over his response to Vinicius Junior’s allegations of racist abuse.
The 25-year-old left the field during Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off in Lisbon on Tuesday after reporting Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni to the referee.
But Benfica manager Mourinho appeared apportion some blame to Vinicius, telling reporters afterwards: “A stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens, always.”
On Wednesday, former France international Silvestre told Sky News that Mourinho was trying to mislead fans with his comments.
“In terms of what high level and reputation he has, Jose Mourinho failed us,” Silvestre told chief presenter Mark Austin. “As an industry, and as human beings, he completely misled everyone – or he tried.
“But we are not foolish – and we know what happened.”
Prestianni, however, has denied making racist comments towards Vinicius, claiming he was “misunderstood” by his opponent.
Mourinho also came under fire for claiming Vinicius had provoked the abuse with his celebration after scoring the only goal early in the second half.
The Brazilian danced around the corner flag, an apparent nod to Cameroonian Roger Milla’s iconic World Cup celebration.
Jose Mourinho is shown a red card during Benfica’s match with Real Madrid. Pic: Reuters
Mourinho told Amazon Prime: “I told him, when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back.”
Silvestre hit back against the former Manchester United manager, adding: “For Jose Mourinho to divert and even vilify Vinicius Junior behaviour for celebrating the goal that he did – remembering Roger Milla for Cameroon years ago – it’s not the way a top manager like him should do.
“We expect better, clearly it was bad for everyone, and I hope he’s regretting his comment during the game, and also after during the press conference.”
Mourinho sounded like he was victim blaming
Vinicius Junior had every right to want to leave the pitch – and for the game to be abandoned.
Because while he is a superstar of the game, well used to the biggest Champions League occasions, being the target of racism cannot be excused as coming with football’s tribalism.
This was reporting being racially abused at work. Just after adding another wondrous strike to his collection of goals.
The accused – Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni – has every right to a thorough process if he persists with denials.
And the UEFA case has to be watertight before imposing the minimum 10-game ban for racism.
But Benfica have gone beyond defending their man with statements, showing no empathy with a player who has been singled out for hate because he is black too often in his career.
Silvestre is a member on the FIFA Player’s Voice Panel, tasked with advising on on-pitch racism incidents, alongside legends such as George Weah and Didier Drogba.
Prestianni’s response to abuse allegation
In a statement in Portuguese on Instagram, shared by Benfica on social media, Prestianni denied he made any racist comments.
He wrote: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vinicius Junior, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.
“I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
Doonited Affiliated: Syndicate News Hunt
This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been modified or edited by Doonited
