WE SHOULD never fall for nostalgia. When Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored his dramatic 98th minute goal against Real Madrid last month, much was made of Jose Mourinho’s exuberant and fist-pumping celebrations with a ball boy on the pitch at the Estadio da Luz.
The old guy still had it. He was still box-office, still a compelling force of nature. A single moment, a last-minute header from his goalkeeper, had turned Mourinho from yesterday’s man into a viable candidate to return to the helm at the Bernabeu. Some were wondering could he be tempted back to the Premier League, that his ability to create content and headlines were sorely missed.
It’s like we had forgotten what Mourinho had become in his older age. Well, like the showman that he is, he was happy to remind us all of that last week. Here was a 63-year-old man, fabled for his communication and oratory skills, victim-blaming someone who is alleged to have suffered racial abuse.
Mourinho is not alone in his belief that Vinicius Jr somehow brings the vile racism on himself
Mourinho is not alone in his belief that Vinicius Jr somehow brings the vile racism he has been subjected to on himself, that he is, in essence, asking for it. There have been plenty of discussions on WhatsApp and in pubs since the incident in the Benfica v Real Madrid game, here and elsewhere, in which someone has prefaced what went on with the idea that Vinicius is not the most likeable character on a football field.
So, the 20 incidents of alleged racial abuse – yes, there have been 20 – that the Brazilian has suffered since joining Madrid eight years ago are explained away by the fact he goes down a little too easily in the penalty area or he waves imaginary yellow cards at referees or he screams at opponents or his own teammates, basically because he’s a bit annoying on the pitch.
Anyone who thinks that, or suggested that since last Tuesday evening, needs to have a good hard look at themselves in the mirror. Not that we expect Mourinho to do that.
Victim-blaming is the most dangerous element of racism simply because it normalises the idea of abusing someone based on the colour of their skin. It serves to justify the dehumanisation of the person, making it easier for society to disregard their suffering.
Maybe we will never know what Gianluca Prestianni said to Vinicius Junior, but Kylian Mbappe was certain what he heard after the Argentinian winger put his jersey over his face
And that’s what Mourinho tried to do last week, before cynically invoking the name of Eusebio as evidence that no one associated with Benfica could possibly be guilty of racism, because the club’s greatest ever player was black.
Not for the first time, as he resembled a racist family member saying ‘some of my best friends are black’, you had to wonder if Mourinho was simply parodying himself. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so serious.
The wonders of social media mean that we were able to see how this disgraceful situation was handled by different broadcasters and CBS Sports led the field. Thierry Henry was able to draw on personal experience to strike just the right tone when describing what had happened because it happened to him too.
‘I can relate to what Vinicius Jr is going through,’ Henry reflected. ‘That happened to me so many times on the field. At times you feel lonely because it’s going to be your word against his word, because we don’t know what he has said.’
A bottle is thrown at Vinicius during the Benfica game as he waits to take a corner
The following evening, the host Kate Scott began their coverage of the Champions League by calling out Mourinho in a powerful piece of television.
‘Jose Mourinho is an iconic figure in world football,’ she said. ‘Yesterday, he switched the focus from what had actually been said to whether there was provocation for it. He essentially told us that Vinicius Jr was asking for it. That is a damaging narrative from a man who is considered a leading figure in the global game.
‘Investigation and due process will have to occur, but whatever the results, we hope that football becomes a better platform, where hatred is met with more than nominal fines and partial stadium closures, where diversity is truly celebrated not just tolerated.
‘The racial diversity on a football pitch in the Champions League is the representation of the global love for this game, and the global belonging in this game. This is the very spirit of football. And if you don’t agree, then respectfully, you are the one who doesn’t belong.’
Maybe we will never know what Gianluca Prestianni said to Vinicius Junior last Tuesday night, but Kylian Mbappe was certain what he heard after the Argentinian winger put his jersey over his face. Mbappe was so sure of what he heard that the best footballer on the planet, so often criticised for his selfishness, showed real leadership by asking his teammate did he want to walk off the field?
Kylian Mbappe showed real leadership by asking his teammate did he want to walk off the field
Perhaps that is what Vini junior and his teammates should have done. The Brazilian went by the book, asking referee Francois Letexier to stop the game so he could make his allegation, but said it ‘was a poorly-executed protocol that served no purpose’.
And it’s difficult to argue with that. If the Real players had walked off the pitch, it would have forced football – and society in general – to face up to the growing problem of racism. These sort of incidents get brushed off all too easily, the world just moves on. The American president shares a deeply offensive and racist video, just blame an aide and go to what’s next.
But it’s all connected. Trump’s video of the Obamas and Mourinho feeding the insidious narrative that a gifted black footballer somehow brings racial abuse on himself is part of the wider issue of how discourse is becoming coarser. That people think they can get away with uttering the most vile of statements.
And we are not isolated to it on our island as shown by some of the ignorant and shocking abuse on social media that a young second row forward from Cobh got on social media following his Ireland debut, to the extent that the IRFU was forced to close comments on a post congratulating Edwin Edogbo.
The IRFU was forced to close comments on a post congratulating Edwin Edogbo
It feels like society is going to hell in a handbasket and it is why last week's incident wasn’t about Vini junior’s moment of genius that settled the first leg of the Champions League play-off, but rather what Prestianni did, or didn’t, say to him when he pulled his jersey over his face.
When he reflects coldly on his words, maybe Mourinho will accept that he shouldn’t have suggested Vinicius brought whatever was said on himself by dancing at the corner flag after a sensational goal. But maybe his reprehensible comments will have another effect.
As the American literary giant James Baldwin, the great chronicler of the corrosive effect of racism once wrote: ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’
Perhaps, Mourinho’s victim-blaming will allow football to finally face up to its problem – and try to change it.
