Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has criticised José Mourinho for attacking the character of Vinícius Júnior after the Real Madrid star accused an opponent of racially insulting him during a Champions League match.

Benfica coach Mourinho suggested that Brazil forward Vinícius had incited Benfica’s players with his celebrations after scoring the only goal in Tuesday’s play-off match.

Vinícius accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of calling him “monkey” during a confrontation after his goal.

Mourinho also questioned why Vinícius, who has been subjected to repeated racist insults in Spain, was so frequently targeted.

“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,” Mourinho said. 

“The stadium where Vinícius played something happened. Always.”

Speaking on Friday, Kompany condemned Mourinho’s comments.

“So after the game you have the leader of an organisation, José Mourinho, who attacks the character of Vinícius Júnior by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinícius is doing in this moment,” Kompany said. 

“For me in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept.”

UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence about what happened in Lisbon in Madrid’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs. 

Madrid said it had sent “all available evidence” of the alleged incident to European soccer’s governing body.

Referring to Vinícius’ celebrations after curling a shot into the top corner, Mourinho said he should “celebrate in a respectful way”.

Kompany pointed out Mourinho’s own history of exuberant celebrations — such as when he ran down the sideline to cheer when his Porto team beat Manchester United in the Champions League.

Kompany said Mourinho’s former players “love him” and added: “I know he’s a good person.”

“I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I know what I’ve heard. I understand maybe what he’s done, but he’s made a mistake and it’s something that hopefully in the future won’t happen like this again,” he said.

Argentinian Prestianni has denied racially insulting Vinícius, with Benfica claiming their player is the victim of a “defamation campaign”.

AP