19 Feb 2026 13:53:55
Mourinho, what a clown. Apparently Vinicius brings all this racist abuse on himself. Seriously, I know he can be erratic but this is a new low, unless he's suggesting he makes it all up.

On a completely separate subject, Alonso hasn't come up in our discussions yet, views?

1.) 19 Feb 2026
19 Feb 2026 14:21:39
Jose is doing standard Jose stuff. It's what the Spanish media has done to Vinicius for years. I'm not a fan of trolling celebrations, but he gets abuse because of his skin colour. It's what Ian Wright was saying about Bellingham: if you're black and not completely humble, you're seen as fair game.

As for Alonso, given his ties to Liverpool and his preferred system, I don't see him as an option. Tbh, I suspect that he's waiting for Slot to be sacked.

2.) 19 Feb 2026
19 Feb 2026 22:57:24
His mitigation was nothing short of disgusting, and a new low for him.

3.) 20 Feb 2026
20 Feb 2026 10:19:16
I hope it was something he said in the moment without fully thinking it through and that he now regrets saying it. The fact that it even crossed his mind and that he thought it was an acceptable thing to say though brings his character into question.

As for Alonso, I think he's a great young manager who achieved phenomenal success with Bayer Leverkusen. However, like all young managers he is far from the finished article and he will make mistakes over the next few years, how successful he becomes will depend on how well he learns from those errors.

I fully understand why he took the Real Madrid job, but most clued in football fans/pundits all thought it could be a mistake when he first took the job. Much like Amorim his success at Leverkusen was built around having the right players who all bought into his system/style of play.
The question at the time was whether he chose the system because that was his preference or whether he chose a system that he thought would get the best out of the players he had available.

He was forced to use a different system at Real Madrid, and while he was effective with how he had them playing, he seemed to struggle with the egos and with getting the best out of their biggest players.

In essence he went from a club where it was team first, players second at Leverkusen to a club like Real Madrid where it's players first, team second.

Which just caused tension and ultimately led to his sacking. His next club has to be chosen very carefully. There will be obvious questions in the media as to whether he goes back to the system he used at Leverkusen or whether he adapts to something new. No doubt he'll have that question in his own head. Ultimately whatever he chooses to do has to be the right path otherwise he'll face the media backlash.

Personally I think at his next club he has to play a system that gets the best out of the players he has available as he needs success more than he needs his philosophy to be proven right. I would say that is the same for Amorim.

However, if he feels strongly about returning to the philosophy/style/system that brought him success at Leverkusen then the best solution is to find a club where the players suit his preferred way of playing. Marrying up both his preferred style with what is best for the players he has.

For that reason I don't think he's the right fit for Manchester United in a post Amorim landscape. He won't be able to use a three at the back system without heavy skepticism from fans and pundits, and would need instant success with it. Likewise if he chose to use a different style and wasn't instantly successful with it then people would question his decision not to go back to what made him successful in the first place. He would also need quick success as his Liverpool affiliation would mean he probably won't be given much slack by the majority of fans.

I still really rate him as a manager, and I would support his appointment if he was given the job (as I would whoever gets it even if it's not my preferred option). However, given how the last 18 months have gone for him and that he is on a slight downturn rather than an upward trajectory, the pressure and expectations at Manchester United, and the limited grace he would be given due to his past with Liverpool, he does represent a risk.

However, history does have a habit of repeating itself within football, Sir Matt was a former Liverpool player and he was a pretty successful Manchester United manager.

4.) 20 Feb 2026
20 Feb 2026 12:23:47
Jeez Shaps, it must be school holidays. ?

5.) 20 Feb 2026
20 Feb 2026 12:34:03
I don't want to defend Mourinho, but when I heard what he said, I assumed he was saying that Vini Jr was lying about it being racist abuse, and that, in his opinion, Vini Jr is jeered because he's just dislikable rather than it being anything to do with his race. Just because Mourinho can be a prat, I don't think this approach of saying he is condoning racism is fair, or indeed is the correct interpretation of what he was saying.

My interpretation is probably wrong, but I do think everyone should cool their jets. As for Prestianni, Mbappe is verifying what Vini Jr has said. I think he should face a very serious ban. Banning him for the rest of the season would show people that - finally - people are taking racist abuse seriously (that is assuming the allegation stands up, which I expect it will).

6.) 21 Feb 2026
21 Feb 2026 07:19:26
Is he only racist towards Vinicius, or towards his ~10 teammates and other Real players as well? Is he racist every day, or just in that one minute where he said SOMETHING (and we do not really know what). I mean, it gets thrown out there so easily these days. To me, it is starting to have the opposite effect. What is racism and what is an insult? If he called him a "monkey", is that racism? What if he called him a "donkey"? Would that be too? What would you call it if he told him he was a little girl? I personally dislike Vinicius, but it has nothing to do with his skin color; it has everything to do with his behavior on and off the pitch.

Mbappe is probably lying; he could not hear what was said. I also would not trust Prestianni or Vinicius, just as Mourinho said.

7.) 21 Feb 2026
21 Feb 2026 11:28:32
Can you be a racist if you're not racist to everyone around you, every moment of your life?

Or can you only be racist when you cover your face to say something to a black man, who then says you racially abused him?

If he called him a long established racial slur with the clear historical connotation that black people are less evolved that everyone else, is that racism?

What if he called him an insult without racial connotations, would that be racism?

Who's to say in this crazy world.

Anyway, I think the black people are lying, but that's nothing to do with racial bias.

8.) 21 Feb 2026
21 Feb 2026 11:48:50
Trololo, if he called him a monkey that is absolutely racism. It is not the same as calling someone a donkey. That's a shocker of a comment fella

9.) 21 Feb 2026
21 Feb 2026 12:32:06
Trololo, go and educate yourself, you donkey.

10.) 23 Feb 2026
22 Feb 2026 22:37:22
Tumble, I know its hard for you not to be a horse ass, but try it for once, it just might feel good.

DonRed, it actually is not such a shocker, as you put it.

Where I am from (and I believe where you are from as well), when we joke around or want to trigger a person, or just plain insult him, we use those name callings all the time, especially "monkey", but because we are white, it is not racist?

What I mean is, it can't always be racism, it sometimes is "just" an insult. Especially in football, where you want to trigger someone.

Also, when people insult someone, they often use the first word that comes to their mind, in the heat of the moment.

Im not saying there is no racism in the world, but we really need to make a difference between an insult and racial slur.

11.) 23 Feb 2026
23 Feb 2026 14:54:21
Trololo, I get what you are saying, but nobody can live in a vacuum. Calling a black man a monkey is undoubtedly racism. And I do think it's right not to label someone a racist so easily, but let's suppose next week you call a black man a monkey; then that would make you a racist, as it has been pointed out to you. Everybody should be given the benefit of the doubt, and everyone should be given the opportunity to adjust.

But the reason I called your comment a shocker is because it seemed, from reading your post, that you were saying that, even if people continue to engage in this type of behaviour, they should continually get this benefit of the doubt, and that is most certainly wrong.

12.) 23 Feb 2026
23 Feb 2026 17:57:29
The guy at the BAFTAs says, Jose, hold my beer. ?

13.) 24 Feb 2026
24 Feb 2026 10:18:27
Don, to me, it isn't that simple, it depends on the culture you come from, education you had and what not.

As I said, we use the "monkey" insult to people who behave certain way. So, if a black person comes to our society, and acts in that way, and someone calls him a "monkey" it isn't racism automatically. He still might feel like it, but the insult wasn't meant in that way. The point is, it does depend on your background.

Also, do you expect a 20 year old boy, who probably barely finished high school, and focused more on practice, to have the same education as you?

Not to mention that nothing was (is) proven, but everyone jumped to conclusion. For example, Thierry Henry called him out and told him to man up, although he himself didn't man up when he handballed against Ireland. Yes, it is not the same type of incident, but I hate people giving lectures, when they aren't great themself.

Im sorry, I don't think I wrote anything about condoning repetitive racism, especially since this is Prestiannis "first time" (which still isn't proven).

14.) 25 Feb 2026
25 Feb 2026 10:37:29
Trololo, there are multiple campaigns to kick racism out. That is UEFA-wide. You are talking about this as if it is happening in a vacuum, when it isn't. If his claim is ignorance, and he comes out and apologises, and says that he now has learnt his actions were poor, then I'd have sympathy for him. I think we all should allow for people to learn and adapt.

But this isn't what you're saying. I grew up in a very rural area, and plenty of people who didn't progress far beyond primary school. But if any of them called a black person a "monkey", I know full well they'd be called out for it. And that they'd know they were saying something racist.

15.) 26 Feb 2026
26 Feb 2026 16:43:49
I do agree with the first part, although we still don't really know what he said, and what I hate most is jumping to conclusions. We suddenly believe Vinicious just because he said it was racism. I can't agree with the second part, perhaps you didn't understand what I was saying. If you come to a totally different culture, which hasn't enslaved black people, and doesn't use "monkey" as a racial slur, but it is still a regular insult in that society, then you can't expect them to just "uninstall" that insult from their vocabulary just because a black person came along.

Doesn't really matter tho, UEFA made their bs decision without any proof and that's that.

{Ed001's Note - Argentina has a culture rife with racism, so not sure you can use that as any way to claim he was innocent.}

16.) 27 Feb 2026
27 Feb 2026 09:56:59
I was talking in general, Ed. But even in his case, we don't know if he does or does not understand it, and more than that, we don't even know what he actually said.

{Ed001's Note - it doesn't matter, it just means your defence makes no sense. Any racial slur used would not be out of context, like you are suggesting, as Argentina has a long history (as does 99% of the world) of using those slurs in a racial context. Also, you seem to think that being ignorant of the law would be a defence, which is quite clearly utter bollox. It doesn't matter what culture someone came from, it is the culture they are residing within that decides what it right and wrong. If they are ignorant of the norms of that society, then that is on them.}