“My old boss” – Mikel Obi hits out at Jose Mourinho’s comments over Vinicius racial incident

Former Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has called out Jose Mourinho for his comments regarding Vinicius Junior, Afrik Foot reports.

The Brazilian winger ran straight to the referee in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Benfica at Estadio Da Luz last week after Gianluca Prestianni allegedly made racist comments to Vini.

UEFA issued an official statement, admitting there’s an investigation ongoing, but Jose Mourinho questioned why Vinicius Jr was always at the cenre of altercations.

Mikel Obi hits out at Mourinho over Vinicius row

Mikel worked under the Portuguese manager across two stints, winning the English Premier League title twice.

However, the AFCON 2013 winner was shocked by the comments Mourinho made about Vinicius’ celebration, antagonising the Benfica fans.

“Is there going to be a rule for how black players should celebrate now? Or does it justify you going to your deepest side to bring out the racism card and call him whatever?

“There was nothing wrong with the celebration. All he did was go to the corner flag and have a little dance. What’s wrong with that?

“You’re now a coach of Benfica, and you’re coming out to represent the whole of Portugal. It’s beyond what just happened; it’s a societal thing,” Mikel Obi said on the Obi One podcast.

“What I expected to hear from my gaffer is that there should be no place for such a thing.

“For him to call out Vinicius’ Jr jubilations as a reason was a clumsy comment from Jose Mourinho. He would be the first to know he messed up there.

“He’s a smart guy, but I don’t know why he hasn’t apologised. I expect him to come out at some point and make a statement.

“No one has worked under him who has put in a bad word about him, especially when it comes to racism. I know him, still in contact with him,” the one-time UEFA Champions League winner concluded.

Mourinho was given his marching orders in the first leg, and while he’s scheduled to travel with the team at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Portuguese coach opted to exercise his right not to speak to the media ahead of the game.

Jose Mourinho is exercising his right to not talk to the media before or after Benfica’s game at Real Madrid on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/YRDpPL7wCE

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 23, 2026

Benfica are currently third on the Liga Portugal table, seven points behind league leaders FC Porto.