Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is a leader in the locker room for his club, and like the rest of his teammates, he has publicly come to the defense of Vinicius Junior, who was likely racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in the Champions League playoffs.
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho tried to claim that a racist incident could not happen because Eusebio, one of the greatest Black players of all time, played for Benfica, and the former Real Madrid manager also disappointed many by claiming Vinicius Jr. provokes racism by the way he celebrates his goals, dancing.
Courtois was not having any of that. Via Fabrizio Romano, the Real Madrid icon expressed his disappointment with Mourinho for his comments on Vincius Jr., stating that while he understands managers have to protect their players, it is not right to say that celebrating a goal in any way justifies an act of racism:
“Mourinho is Mourinho, as a coach you’ll always defend your club and you’ll believe your player… but one thing disappointed me. Mourinho was using Vini’s celebration as an excuse. You can NOT justify racism over a celebration”.
Mourinho never coached Vinicius Jr. at Real Madrid, but he and Courtois worked together in the mid-2010s at Chelsea when the Belgian star was his goalkeeper, so the two have a personal relationship.
So Courtois is in a great position to comment here and take a stand, supporting Vinicius Jr. Once again, Tibo came up big and said the right thing in public, showing why he is an important voice in world football, and more players like him need to support their Black teammates – and players on other teams – in the fight against racism.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.