<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2745026 alignleft" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/718d477b-bob-holmes-columnist-250424-1.webp" alt="bobby" width="300" height="400" />
He’s not special anymore. He hasn’t been for a while.
But now he’s just another gaslighter who tries to turn a victim of racism into a provocateur.
In effect, this is what Jose Mourinho is doing by blaming Vinicius Junior’s goal celebration for sparking the racist abuse that the Real Madrid attacker suffered on Tuesday night.
It’s a new low for the Portuguese manager who once was very special indeed.
But racism is a regular occurrence for the Brazilian, who is a favoured target for the low-life cretins whose teams are on the receiving end of his brilliance.
And that, sadly, includes players as well as so-called supporters.
According to La Liga, it’s the 26th time that he’s reported such incidents at 10 different grounds since October 2021.
And, given the simmering racist undercurrent heard in stadiums in southern Europe, it seems fair to assume that’s a mere fraction of such occurrences in his eight years with Real.
It is only in recent years that the 25-year-old has hoped against hope that something might be done about it.
Well, this week he has certainly got a reaction.
But, all too predictably, it is already in danger of being lost in confusion and obfuscation.
He’s up against the “no clear evidence” argument. “One man’s word against another.” “Not the right way to celebrate.”
It’s all one step short of saying Vinicius Junior asked for it.
And the one who is driving this is none other than Mourinho.
The risible suggestion that no Benfica player would ever indulge in racism because there is a statue of a black man at the Stadium of Light is a new low.
Evoking Eusebio’s name as a guarantee that no player who ever pulls on the red shirt of Benfica will ever sink to such levels is beyond parody.
Why doesn’t he ask Gianluca Prestianni why he felt the need to cover his mouth?
Does he believe, and is he asking millions of viewers around the world to agree, that the Argentinian was merely wishing his opponent a pleasant evening?
Perhaps recommending a favourite haunt in which to sample Lisbon’s nightlife?
And does he discount the possibility that the word “mono” – Spanish for monkey – was why he was ashamed to let the world read his lips?
This is the word Vinicius Jr and several teammates swear they heard.
Kylian Mbappe told reporters: “There was player No 25 (Prestianni) from Benfica – I don’t want to mention his name, he doesn’t deserve it – who started speaking rudely and saying insults.
“Then he put his shirt down here and said ‘monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey’. I heard him say it, and some Benfica players heard him too, and then everything you saw started.”
Prestianni denies saying anything racist.
You have to wonder what the black players in Benfica’s squad are making of this.
When their turn comes to be abused, as it surely will, will their manager support them or blame them for instigating it?
And if we get away from race, for Mourinho to blame provocation of any kind has the unmistakable feel of a kitchen full of kettles and black pots.
Touchline sprints. Knee slides. Shushing motions. Pokes in the eye. Calling out a doctor for treating an injured player.
Just a smattering of Mourinho using provocation throughout his career.
Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher, now working as a commentator for CBS, said: “It feels a bit rich. This is a guy who celebrates and antagonises the opposition more than any coach has ever done.”
Colleague Micah Richards, ex-Manchester City, said that he felt “let down by Mourinho, such a powerful person within the sport, and one to whom so many people listen.”
We tolerated some of the early incidents, were even amused by some.
But gradually, as he’s found the trophies harder to come by, the humour has been replaced by a nastiness.
At Real Madrid when Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona ruled the roost, he decided that the only way to compete was to rough them up.
He took that to include poking Guardiola’s assistant, the late Vilanova, in the eye.
Annoyed at Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro running on the pitch to treat an injured Eden Hazard, Mourinho called her “a daughter of a whore” in Portuguese.
Upset that it reduced the Blues to nine men, he was yet again showing he was focused totally on a club’s success regardless of the health of its players.
Carneiro successfully sued for millions.
And now returning home, he is desperate to show that he still has what it takes at 63, and is determined to inveigle his way into the hearts of Benfica fans.
Last month, he declared, &#8220;Benfica is my country, my house is 20 minutes from here. These are the people of my country, it&#8217;s my club&#8221;.
&#8220;I want to tell you&#8230; that none of the clubs I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to coach have motivated me more than being Benfica&#8217;s coach&#8221;.
But it hasn’t gone well. Benfica are 10 points behind Porto in the league and now in danger of bowing out of Europe.
Fans have been angry enough to invade the club’s training ground to let him know.
He celebrated a rare moment two weeks ago when his keeper scored in the last minute against Real, but it has been the exception, not the rule.
The final word has to go to former Dutch star Clarence Seedorf, a respected commentator for Amazon Prime in the UK.
He said: “I have huge respect for Jose as a coach, as a person. He’s still emotional; he made a big mistake today to justify racist abuse.”
It was a catastrophic error of judgment that will tarnish his legacy.
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The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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