The Madrid goalkeeper attacks the Portuguese coach’s statements
Thibaut Courtois did not bite his tongue. The Real Madrid goalkeeper came forward to defend his teammate Vinícius Júnior after José Mourinho questioned his way of celebrating. The victory in Lisbon was marred by a very serious accusation.
Vinícius denounced that Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni called him a “monkey” after scoring the goal. The Argentine denied it, but UEFA provisionally suspended him. Mourinho, also suspended, traveled to Madrid and took aim at the Brazilian’s celebration.
“Mourinho is Mourinho and as a coach you are going to defend your club,” Courtois acknowledged this Tuesday. But then he was direct: “The only thing that disappoints me is using Vini’s celebration. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
The Belgian was clear: one thing does not justify the other. For him, blaming the player for how he expresses his joy is crossing a dangerous line.
“We cannot justify an alleged act of racism with a celebration,” he said.
A debate that goes beyond the result
While the teams prepare for the second leg at the Bernabéu, the shadow of the case is long. Benfica midfielder, Fredrik Aursnes, avoided talking about the specific case but left a clear message.
“In general, I would say there should be no place for racism anywhere,” he said. “It is totally unacceptable.”
From Real Madrid, the support for ‘Vini Jr.’ It’s total. Álvaro Arbeloa, assistant coach, saw a historic opportunity at this moment.
“We are facing a great opportunity to mark a before and after,” he declared. He hopes that UEFA will act beyond “slogans and pretty banners.”
Arbeloa praised the mental strength of his star player, who arrives with five goals in four games. He promises to go out and fight as always.
Football should just be football. But sometimes, what happens on the field forces us to talk about much more important things.
