Jose Mourinho marked his Real Madrid return after 4,652 days with a characteristically rebellious act.
The Benfica manager, banned from the touchline after receiving a red card in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie, never turned up in the seat laid on for him.
There were no fond reunions, no salutes to the fans, and no healing of relations after the row which has engulfed the two clubs since Vinicius Junior accused Gianluca Prestianni of a racial slur last week.
Instead, he watched from a secluded mystery location as his team lost 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to exit Europe’s blue-chip competition.
That’s right – Mourinho watched the entire game from the team bus, as reported by Spanish outlet Marca, and left everybody dumbfounded.
Around 30 journalists had gathered on the eighth floor of the stadium to see the Portuguese arrive and enter his designated booth, but they were left disappointed.
Jose Mourinho watched Benfica’s Champions League clash at Real Madrid on the team bus
Mourinho was banned from the touchline after being sent off in the first leg of their play-off
UEFA reportedly even prohibited anybody from filming the 63-year-old but even that could not coax him out of his hidey-hole.
In the end, it was tough viewing for him. Rafa Silva gave Benfica an early lead, but the hosts quickly equalised through Aurelien Tchouameni and then Vini Jr scored in the second half to wrap things up – celebrating in the same way as he had in the first leg.
Mourinho had taken issue with Vini’s celebration in the first match, suggesting that the Brazilian had incited the crowd.
He was widely accused of ‘gaslighting’ for his comments, with a number of former players he managed weighing in eloquently with criticism after the ugly incident.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, Mourinho said: ‘It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal in a good game… these talents are able to do these beautiful things but unfortunately he [Vinicius] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and then the game was over. When you score a goal like that you celebrate in a respectful way.’
When asked if Vinicius had ‘incited’ Benfica’s players and fans with his exuberant celebration, Mourinho said: ‘Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don’t comment about it.
The incident itself took place in the wake of Vinicius Jr’s brilliant goal in the 50th minute. He celebrated by dancing by the corner flag in front of the home supporters after putting the 15-time champions ahead.
And as he walked back to the centre-circle ahead of the restart, the Brazilian forward was incensed by something said to him by Benfica’s Argentinian winger Prestianni, who held his shirt over his mouth while speaking to him so cameras could not pick up what he said.
Vinicius Jr promptly told the referee of the allegations and left the field, refusing to return. This resulted in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes after the referee paused the game in line with UEFA regulations, but it appeared at one stage that the first leg in Lisbon would not be able to continue.
During the scenes, Real’s No 7 was also in discussions with Mourinho, who was sent off late on for angrily protesting that the 25-year-old should have received a second booking over a separate incident.
Prestianni played no part in the second leg, having been handed a provisional one-match ban from UEFA competition, as European football’s governing body continues to investigate allegations of racial abuse. Benfica did appeal against the ban and Prestianni travelled with the squad.
Vinicius Junior scored the winner on Wednesday and celebrated in the same way as he did in the first leg
Mourinho had accused Vini Jr of inciting abuse towards him with his celebration
Gianluca Prestianni is accused of calling Vinicius Jr a ‘monkey’ and was provisionally banned
The Argentinian insisted his opponent ‘misinterpreted what he thinks he heard’.
He has since given evidence to the investigation, telling UEFA chiefs that he did not say ‘mono’ – Spanish for ‘monkey’ – but instead directed a homophobic slur towards Vinicius Jr.
The 20-year-old says he used the word ‘maricon’, Spanish for ‘f****t’, in response to being taunted about his height.
Standing at 5ft 5in, Prestianni is among the shortest players in the Champions League and, according to The Times, his main defence is that he acted in retaliation after Vinicius referred to him as a dwarf.
Both racist and homophobic abuse are breaches of Article 14 of UEFA’s disciplinary rules, meaning Prestianni could be set for a lengthy ban regardless of whether his defence is believed.
Taunts about a player’s physical appearance, such as height, weight and baldness, are not covered by the regulations.
Prestianni took to social media to defend himself and deny the accusations after the game, writing: ‘I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to player 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.’
Later, on X, Prestianni questioned what he felt was a subdued initial reaction from Vinicius’s team-mates, given the gravity of the accusation levelled against him. He also explained why he raised his shirt over his mouth.
‘If they keep saying that SUPPOSEDLY I made a racist comment to Vinicius Junior, then why didn’t any of them react?’ he asked. ‘Accusing someone of something serious isn’t right, and even less so when it’s not true.
‘And everyone pointing fingers at me for covering up with my shirt when they know that all soccer players cover their mouths to talk. Don’t try to make up more.’
Mourinho and Vinicius Jr are pictured during a heated exchange in Benfica’s first leg against Real Madrid last week when an alleged racist incident is said to have taken place
The incident occurred moments after Vinicius Jr scored the only goal of the first leg in Lisbon
‘When he was arguing about racism I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black [Eusebio]. This club, the last thing it is is racist, so if in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.
‘There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always.’
Mourinho has never been a stranger to controversy but for many his bullish defence in the face of racism accusations against his player were beyond the pale.
Kick It Out unequivocally condemned Mourinho’s comments, insisting that those who ‘focus on Vinicius Jr’s celebration’ are ‘gaslighting’ the situation.
The charity said on X: ‘When anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported.
‘Focusing on Vinicius Jr’s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.
John Obi Mikel, who has a close relationship with Mourinho after playing under him at Chelsea, said he expects his old boss to come out and apologise for making ‘a huge mistake’.
Speaking on his Obi One Podcast, he said: ‘What I expected to hear from my old boss, from my gaffer [was] “Yes it is under investigation, but there is not place for racism there, there is no place for such thing, but let’s wait until it is concluded, there is no place for that”.
‘So for him to come out and say “Oh yeah, Vinicius Jr shouldn’t have celebrated the way he did”, that was a clumsy, clumsy comment from Jose Mourinho.
‘He will be the first, he knows, he will be the first to know “I’ve f***ed up here”. He is a smart, smart guy, a very smart guy, he knows.’
Mikel added: ‘I don’t know the reason why he hasn’t apologised, but I expect him to come out at some point and make a statement.
Prestianni claimed he had been mocked for his size and that he had responded with a homophobic slur, not a racist one
‘There is nobody who has played with Jose Mourinho that has a bad word to say about him, especially when it comes to racism, especially, zero, absolutely zero.’
‘He will be the first to say “I f***ed up, it was after the game, emotions were running high, I didn’t think about my statement, I didn’t think about what I was going to say”.
‘He is an experienced manager, he is a smart guy, he knows what he should have said. The statement that he made is a massive, massive, huge mistake.’
That sentiment was echoed by a number of other pundits and former players in the media.
On CBS Sport, Micah Richards said: ‘Mourinho is someone who I absolutely love as a coach, and he could have talked about something different. He’s trying to deflect, and I expect better from him, because he’s a powerful person in the sport.
‘A lot of people listen to what he says and Jamie’s right, hypocrisy from him, talking about Vini Jr when he celebrates exactly how he wants. I just feel a little bit let down.’
And Thierry Henry was disgusted by Mourinho’s comments, adding: ‘Mourinho, as a coach, wanted to deflect discussion. As soon as we came back, what did we discuss? The celebration? Who cares. I want to know what Prestianni said. That’s when game stopped. The game didn’t stop because of the celebration. The game stopped because of what Prestianni apparently said.
‘What he did, he did what coaches do, at the end of games. He made sure we don’t talk about what he (doesn’t want) to talk about. The only time the game stopped – and the spectacle stopped – is because of what apparently Prestianni said’.
Presenter Kate Abdo also compared Mourinho’s statement about Eusebio being a club legend to someone saying: ‘I have black friends, I can’t be racist’.
Mourinho chose not to speak to the media ahead of tonight’s return leg.
Rio Ferdinand is one former player who came to the manager’s defence, speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, saying: ‘I think Jose, in time, will sit there and go, “Maybe I approached that wrong.”
‘And it doesn’t make Jose Mourinho a racist by the way.
‘I think Jose Mourinho has done enough for black footballers from all over the world, who look at him like a father figure, to suggest that the guy hasn’t got a racist bone in his body.
‘I just think he approached this situation, unfortunately, wrong.’
