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."