When Vincent Kompany speaks on racism in football, people should listen. And what the Bayern Munich manager just said about the Vinicius Jr incident at Benfica - and José Mourinho's response to it - is powerful, measured, and absolutely necessary.
Let's set the scene: Vinicius Jr reported racist abuse during Real Madrid's match at Benfica. Kylian Mbappé, normally diplomatic, was very clear about what he heard. Video footage showed people making monkey gestures in the stadium. A Benfica player was seen hiding what he was saying in his shirt.
Then came Mourinho's response. The Benfica manager attacked Vini's character, bringing up his goal celebrations to discredit what he was reporting. Then Mourinho said Benfica couldn't be racist because their greatest ever player was Eusébio.
That's where Kompany drew the line.
"José Mourinho has basically attacked the character of Vini Jr by bringing in the type of Vini's celebration to discredit what he was doing at that moment," Kompany said. "It was a huge mistake in terms of leadership."
But Kompany didn't stop there. About the Eusébio comment, he was even more direct:
"Do you know what black players had to go through in the 60s? Was he there to travel with Eusébio every away game and see what he went through? To use his name today to make a point about Vini Jr... I know deep down he's a good person. I understand what he's done, but he made a mistake."
This is important, folks. Kompany as a Black former player brings credibility and lived experience to this conversation. He's not grandstanding or virtue signaling - he's speaking from a place of understanding what it's like to face racism in football.
About Vini's reaction on the pitch, Kompany was clear: "That reaction cannot be faked. You can see it was an emotional reaction. I don't see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders."
He's right. Why would Vinicius make this up? What does he gain from it? The scrutiny, the controversy, the inevitable backlash - nobody wants that. But when you hear racist abuse, what choice do you have but to speak up?
Kompany also made it clear he respects Mourinho as a person - that everyone who's worked with him says he's good to his players. But respect doesn't mean silence when someone makes a mistake.
And this was a mistake. A big one.
Racism in football isn't going away because we invoke the names of past Black players. It goes away when we listen to those experiencing it, believe them when they report it, and hold people accountable when it happens.
Kompany provided exactly the kind of leadership Mourinho should have shown. And hopefully, everyone involved can learn from this and move forward together.
That's what sports is all about, folks - doing better, being better, and standing up for what's right.
