Mourinho criticised for 'big mistake' after Vinicius incident - Sky S… — and more

According to a recent Bild report, contract extension talks between Konrad Laimer and Bayern Munich beyond 2027 are currently on hold.

Bayern’s initial offer reportedly fell short of Laimer's expectations, and the 28-year-old, who currently earns an estimated €8-9 million including bonuses, has therefore paused negotiations.

Commenting briefly on the situation to Sport Bild, Laimer said:

“There aren’t many talks at the moment. I’m still relaxed. You mustn’t overthink it.”

The Austrian international has been with Bayern since 2023, making 118 appearances and racking up six goals and 16 assists.

New images from the Estadio da Luz have begun to reveal more details about the tense moment that overshadowed Real Madrid’s Champions League clash against Benfica. 

What should have been remembered for Vinicius Jr.’s decisive goal instead turned into a serious controversy after the Brazilian reported a racist insult during the second half.

According to the sequence of events, Vinicius immediately approached referee Francois Letexier to inform him about the alleged incident involving Benfica youngster Gianluca Prestianni. 

The official reacted quickly, activating the anti-racism protocol and halting the match for several minutes as the situation was assessed.

During this tense period, several Real Madrid players surrounded the referee and the Benfica players, but one of the most vocal figures was Kylian Mbappe. 

The French forward did not hesitate to defend his teammate and directly confronted Prestianni. 

Images broadcast showed Mbappe repeatedly addressing the Argentine youngster, shouting, “You’re a f**king racist!”

Addressing the event

After the match, Mbappe spoke at length, making it clear that the issue went far beyond the result on the pitch. 

He began by highlighting the responsibility that top players carry when it comes to fighting racism in football. 

“We, the stars of world football, are trying to change all this because we know we have a big voice. We have to set an example for everyone and all the children who look up to us. 

“This is the Champions League, and these are things we cannot accept. In the end, we have to say that we shouldn’t generalise. 

“That’s sometimes a problem. I’ll say it, I’ve always come to Portugal, and I have friends and teammates here. They’ve always treated me very well,” he said, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.

There needs to be an action

He then explained why silence is not an option in such situations, stressing that action must be taken when unacceptable behaviour occurs. 

“When someone behaves like this, we have to say something. Then people booed us. My opinion is that they don’t know what happened. 

“I have nothing against the fans, against Benfica, or their coach, one of the best in the world, with a great history. But something has to be done. 

We can’t accept that a player who plays in the best football competition in Europe behaves like that. 

Vinicius Jr. allegedly suffered a racist incident against Benfica. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“He doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League. That’s my opinion, but let’s see what happens. 

“I’m not the one who makes the decisions. Let’s see, let’s leave it to UEFA, who always try to do something. Now there’s a serious case and action has to be taken,” he noted.

Leaving the field

Finally, the French forward revealed that Real Madrid even considered leaving the pitch in solidarity with Vinicius. 

The decision, he explained, was entirely up to the Brazilian winger. He concluded, 

“Yes, we did think about leaving the field. That’s why we left; it was the team’s decision.

“Then I saw that other players came back. We won the game, but today it’s not important; there are more important things than football. 

“I asked Vinicius what he wanted to do. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do. We’ll never leave him alone,” he concluded.

Jose Mourinho was criticised by Clarence Seedorf after appearing to suggest that Vinicius Jr had provoked racist abuse by celebrating his goal for Real Madrid against Benfica in the Champions League and inciting the scenes that followed.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius had sent Madrid into the lead in Lisbon with a superb strike in the early stages of the second half before dancing by the corner flag in front of the home supporters. He was booked by the referee for an excessive celebration.

Before the match resumed, Vinicius exchanged words with Benfica’s Ginaluca Prestianni and reported the player to the referee over an alleged racist remark.

In a statement on Instagram, Benfica winger Prestianni said he had not directed racist insults at Vinicius who he said had "regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard".

But the match was paused for 11 minutes, as the referee followed Fifa’s racist abuse protocols, with Mourinho seen talking to several Madrid players, including Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe, as tensions rose in the stadium.

Mourinho was later sent off for demanding a second booking for Vinicius after a foul from the Brazilian. Mourinho stormed towards the fourth official but was himself cautioned for his protests, but continued remonstrating and was promptly shown a second yellow card.

Speaking after the match, Mourinho said he had spoken to both Vinicius and Prestianni nd could not be biased against either player. But he criticised Vinicius for his goal celebration.

“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.”

Mourinho was asked if Vinicius had “incited” the Benfica players and the crowd with his celebration and he responded: “Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don’t comment about it.”

The Portuguese manager then revealed his own talks with Vinicius and explained what he had told the winger during the pause in play.

“I told him that when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back,” Mourinho added. “And then when he was arguing about racism I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black. 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.

“I’m saying that it was a good 50 minutes of football, millions of people watching around the world, a crazy goal absolutely crazy goal and then game over.”

Amazon Prime pundits Wayne Rooney, Clarence Seedorf and Theo Walcott seemed stunned by Mourinho’s comments with Rooney labelling them “unfair” and Seedorf saying Mourinho made a ‘big mistake’.

“As he said he’s trying to stay independent but I think it was very unfair what he said about Vinicius,” Rooney said when pressed for comment by presenter Gabby Logan.

Seedorf further explained by adding: “I think he's [Jose Mourinho] is still emotional. I think he made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse and I'm not saying that was the case today but he mentioned something more than today. He said wherever he goes these things happen, so he's saying it's okay when Vinicius provokes you, that is it okay to be racist and I think that is very wrong.

“We should never, ever justify racial abuse. And Vinicius has had enough of that unjustified behaviour from people. And I know Mourinho by heart would agree with me but he expressed himself a bit unfortunately I believe. Because we should not be telling the people at home that someone makes a dance or something then it's okay to be racist.”

Theo Walcott plainly finished: “That's the one time we shouldn't have heard from him [Mourinho], tonight he should not have been in front of the cameras.”