VIDEO: Vincent Kompany hits back at Jose Mourinho for invoking Eusebio's name in Vinicius Junior racism case with 12-minute monologue

Brazil international Vinicius scored a stunning goal in Lisbon as Real took control of a keenly-contested knockout phase play-off clash. He celebrated in front of agitated home supporters after finding the top corner.

The South American superstar was booked, much to his disgust, before returning to his own half of the field. After lining up opposite Argentine winger Prestianni, Vinicius raced towards the match referee to report allegations of racist comments being aimed in his direction - with a European rival covering his mouth with his shirt in order to avoid having his lips read.

The game was halted for 10 minutes, with Benfica boss Mourinho whispering into the ear of Vinicius at one stage. Quizzed afterwards on what he said, the 63-year-old told reporters: “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. 

“When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black. This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.”

Mourinho’s statement attracted plenty of criticism, with the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager being accused by Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf - who was on punditry duty for Amazon Prime Video - of trying to “justify racial abuse”.

Ex-Manchester City star Kompany, who is now in charge of Bundesliga title holders Bayern, has given his take on more unfortunate scenes and comments, with alleged racism in football generating headlines across the world.

The Belgian said: “It's a difficult topic. I watched the game and was really intrigued by it. There are two different components to the story. First, what happened on the pitch - second, what happened with the fans as well. And then there's what happened after the game. We need to separate them. 

“When you watch the action itself and how Vini reacted, that reaction cannot be faked. You can see it was an emotional reaction. I don't see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders. In that moment he saw that it was the right thing to do.

“Kylian Mbappe normally always stays diplomatic, but he was very clear about what he saw and heard. Then there's the Benfica player who was hiding what he was saying in his shirt. In the stadium you can see there were people doing monkey signs, it's in the video. And for me, what happened after the game is even worse. 

“Jose Mourinho has basically attacked the character of Vini Jr by bringing in the type of Vini's celebration to discredit what he was doing at that moment. It was a huge mistake in terms of leadership. 

“On top of that, Mourinho mentioned the name of Eusebio. He said Benfica cannot be racist because their best ever player was Eusebio. Do you know what black players had to go through in the 60s? Was he there to travel with Eusebio every away game and see what he went through. To use his name today to make a point about Vini Jr. 

“To be honest, I don't actually see my place in a lot of things that are happening today, so I don't want to be part of one group or the other. I met 100 people who worked with Jose Mourinho. I've never heard someone say something bad about Jose. All his players love him. 

“I understand the person he is, I understand he fights for his club. I know deep down he's a good person. I don't need to judge him on that. But I also know what I've heard. I understand what he's done, but he made a mistake. Hopefully it won't happen again in the future, and we can move on together.”

Investigations into what happened at Estadio da Luz have been opened by UEFA, European football’s governing body, and the Portuguese government. Real Madrid have done all they can to aid those processes, with final rulings and any potential sanctions now being waited on.