Vinícius, Mourinho and treating racism as reputational risk rather than a lived reality | Jonathan Liew

The Brazilian has seen this before, football has seen this before and yet why does it feel like nothing ever changes? José Mourinho: against provoking opposition fans. José Mourinho: in favour of restrained celebrations. José Mourinho, once of the poke-in-the-eye, sprint-down-the-touchline, accost-the-referee-in-the-car-park school of footballing expression: now apparently very big on showing respect to the game. Well, it seems like we’ve all been on a journey here. “I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was Black,” Mourinho recounted when asked about his conversation with Vinícius Júnior on Tuesday night. “This club, the last thing that it is, is racist.” And doubtless these words will have been a profound source of comfort to Vinícius in his lowest moment, having been insulted on the pitch by an opposition player in a Champions League playoff. Continue reading...

By Jonathan Liew

Vinícius racism row sparks UEFA investigation

The row involving Gianluca Prestianni and Vinícius Júnior shows no sign of fading, with the incident at the Estádio da Luz set to have further repercussions.Tuesday night’s Champions League tie w...