Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has expressed his deep disappointment with Jose Mourinho, criticizing his former manager’s controversial stance on the racism storm involving Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr.
The tension follows a heated Champions League play-off first leg where Vinicius Jr accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of directing a racial slur at him. Rather than condemning the act, the Benfica manager claimed the Brazilian winger provoked the home crowd with his goal celebrations.
Mourinho further defended the Portuguese club by citing the legacy of Benfica icon Eusebio as evidence that the institution is incapable of racism—a defense that many, including Mikel, found dismissive.
Speaking on his popular Obi One Podcast, Mikel, who enjoyed two successful spells under Mourinho at Chelsea, shared what he had hoped to hear from the man he still refers to as his “gaffer.”
“What I expected to hear from my old boss, from my gaffer [was] “Yes it is under investigation, but there is not place for racism there, there is no place for such thing, but let’s wait until it is concluded, there is no place for that”,” Mikel explained.
The former midfielder did not mince words when discussing Mourinho’s decision to shift the blame onto the victim’s behavior rather than the alleged abuse.
“So for him to come out and say “Oh yeah, Vinicius Jr shouldn’t have celebrated the way he did”, that was a clumsy, clumsy comment from Jose Mourinho.”
Despite the harsh critique, Mikel acknowledged the intelligence of his former coach, suggesting that deep down, the “Special One” likely realizes the gravity of his misstep.
‘He will be the first, he knows, he will be the first to know “I’ve f***ed up here”. He is a smart, smart guy, a very smart guy, he knows.”