Jose Mourinho set up Vinicius, then came under fire himself: 'Bit of a hypocrite'

Regarding the situation that led to the interruption of the match for about 10 minutes, Mourinho said that Vinicius and Prestianni have different options. The Brazilian claims he was called a “monkey”, with Mourinho's player saying he had no problem with racial slurs.

Further to that, Mourinho “eared” Vinicius for challenging the Benfica supporters after the goal scored.

Jose Mourinho set up Vinicius. Carragher accused him of hypocrisy

“One thing is what Vinicius says, another is what Prestianni says, completely different things. I told Vinicius, privately, that when a player scores a goal like that, he is carried on his arms. You don't go to challenge a stadium or the heart of the opposing stadium.

As they say in Spain, whoever scores goals like those “cuts the tail and the ears” and not only goes through the match, but solves it”, said Mourinho, according to A Bola.

Jamie Carragherthe former England international who has been Mourinho's adversary on numerous occasions throughout his career, responded to Mourinho on CBS Sports:

“Anyone can celebrate however they want and Vinicius should not be the target of racial abuse. It seems a bit hypocritical of Mourinho, he is a man who has celebrated and probably antagonized opponents more than any other manager in the past.

Do you remember when he ran on the touchline at Old Trafford (nr – celebrating Costinha's goal for FC Porto)? I remember Mourinho, in a cup final against Liverpool, when Chelsea scored a late goal, telling the Liverpool fans to shut up.

How many times has he put his hands to his ears to challenge his opponents? Therefore, it is a bit hypocritical of him to come and criticize Vinicius. It was a great goal, in a Champions League match, he has every right to celebrate as he wants”.

Mourinho: “The referee had a piece of paper with the players who shouldn't have received a yellow”

Regarding refereeing, Mourinho complained that opposing players had been groomed:

“There is nothing to explain, everything is very obvious: I have 1,400 matches, it's simple, [arbitrul] he had a piece of paper that said Carreras, Tchouameni, Huijsen, if I get a yellow card I can't play. And someone told him they can't get yellow.

Carreras simulated grotesquely and did not receive a yellow, Tchouameni with 10 fouls did not receive a yellow. The only thing I told him was: I found a fact, then with his arrogance he removed me, no problem“.

“Let's see if Anthony Taylor won't be the referee”

Eliminated towards the end of the match, Mourinho will be suspended for the second leg at the “Bernabeu”, scheduled for February 25. He has already started preparing the ground for the decisive match, with a message to UEFA: “Let's see if Anthony Taylor is not the referee.” This in the context in which the Englishman recounted an episode with Mourinho in an interview for the BBC.

The case dates back to 2023, when Jose Mourinho's Roma lost the Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties, prompting the Portuguese coach to lash out at the referee, who showed yellow cards to 13 players and awarded 25 minutes of extra time in total (including extra time).

Taylor was subsequently the target of Roma supporters' ire.

“That was the worst situation I've faced in terms of abuse. Not just because I was with my family, but because it highlights the impact of people's behavior on others. Even in a match like that, where there were no major mistakes. They wanted to change the subject, to blame someone,” he said.

Asked if Mourinho's attitude might have caused that angry backlash, he said: “Yes. I think, if we're honest, yes.”