Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made no secret of his disappointment with Jose Mourinho’s reaction to what happened to Vinicius Junior in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 playoff against Benfica.
Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by Benfica player Gianluca Brestiani, and instead of standing up for him, Mourinho chose to attack the Brazilian, claiming his provocative goal celebration was the cause of everything and that he was always a troublemaker.
In the pre-match press conference, Courtois was asked about his opinion on Mourinho’s comments, to which he replied, “Mourinho is Mourinho. As a coach, you will always defend your club and believe in your players.”
He added, “But there’s something that really disappointed me. Mourinho used Vinicius’s celebration as an excuse. Racism can’t be justified by a celebration.”
“Vinicius decided we should continue playing against Benfica,” he continued. “If he had decided to withdraw, we would all have withdrawn.”
He concluded, “I completely believe what Vinicius said. Vinicius never accused any opposing player of racism. He certainly heard Prestiani say it; he told us so repeatedly.”
Real Madrid won the first leg at the Estádio da Luz thanks to a goal from Vinicius, who is now preparing for the second leg on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu after UEFA provisionally suspended Prestiani pending the final results of the investigation into the incident in Lisbon.
