‘Happens in every stadium’ - Does Mourinho’s claim about Vinícius hold up?

José Mourinho, in the aftermath of Real Madrid’s win over Benfica on February 18, said “there is something wrong because it happens in every stadium, a stadium where Vinícius plays, something happens, always.”

Whether he intended to or not, that was a charge at the door of the man being abused rather than the people doing the abusing.

Mourinho often says things that are hard to understand, but this time, he had numbers to point to, incidents to cite, and a trail of confrontations stretching back years.

But does the pattern he describes actually say something about Vinícius?

The Brazilian has been the subject of racist abuse in at least 20 separate incidents since 2022. He has filed more than 18 legal complaints. Fans at Valladolid, Valencia, Osasuna, Mallorca, Betis, Sevilla and Atlético Madrid have all, at one point or another, directed racial slurs or monkey chants at him.

In December 2022, an effigy wearing his shirt was hung from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground. In September 2023, an eight-year-old girl arrived at the Madrid derby wearing his jersey and was abused before she had reached her seat.

None of that is in dispute. The question Mourinho raises, though, is whether Vinícius himself plays a role in making these situations worse. Whether the dancing, the celebrations in front of rival fans, the arguments with opponents and officials, are what turn stadiums against him.

The defining point of this whole story is probably at Mestalla in May 2023. Vinícius was subjected to sustained monkey chanting from sections of the Valencia support before he was eventually sent off for clashing with the goalkeeper and throwing a punch at Jesús Vázquez.

In what was the first criminal convictions of their kind in Spanish football, three fans were later jailed for eight months following the incident.

At the Benfica game, Gianluca Prestianni, a 20-year-old Argentinian, allegedly directed a racial slur at him after the Brazilian celebrated in front of the home end following his goal.

Prestianni denied it. Kylian Mbappé, who was standing within earshot, said he heard the young forward call Vinícius a monkey five times.

Each time, the story is about the theatre around the incident rather than the incident itself. Each time, Vinícius’s personality is the subject of debate. And each time, the abuse that prompted all of it gets a little more hidden.

Former Real midfielder Clarence Seedorf and one of the clearest voices on the Mourinho topic, rightly asked, “So is he saying it's ‘ok’ when Vini is provoked and suffers racism for it?”

That is, if you dance in front of the wrong crowd, or celebrate too much, the rules of basic human decency no longer apply to how they treat you. It is a position that does not survive contact with its own logic.

Mourinho, of course, spent the better part of three decades provoking people as part of his art. He silenced Anfield as a Porto manager, sprinted the length of the Old Trafford touchline, antagonised journalists, players, and officials. People celebrate him for it. Nobody said his behaviour made it understandable if people abuse his players for that.

The more uncomfortable version of the question is whether what Vinícius does makes him often targeted, regardless of whether that is fair or justified. And the honest answer is probably yes, in the same way that any visible, expressive Black athlete in a hostile environment draws more of that hostility.

But that tells us more about the environment than him. That the incidents continue to happen does not mean something is wrong with the player. It means there is something wrong, that has not been fixed.

Real Madrid have issued statements. Vinícius himself has spoken to world leaders, appeared before the United Nations, broke down in tears at a Brazil press conference in 2024, and said, on more than one occasion, that he did not feel like playing football again.

Mourinho says it happens in every stadium. That is true.  After years of convictions, protocols, political speeches and tears, it still does. But the reality is, it tells us more about people than Vinicius.