John Obi Mikel has criticised Jose Mourinho for his response to Vinicius Jr's allegations of racial abuse, saying the Benfica manager will know he has made a serious error.
Mikel, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea, was speaking after the former Real Madrid boss suggested Vinicius had incited the backlash that led to the abuse. The incident occurred during Real Madrid's Champions League victory over Benfica, with the Brazilian claiming Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni called him a "monkey".
UEFA has provisionally banned Prestianni for one match, ruling him out of the second leg, while an investigation into the allegation continues. Prestianni has denied the claim, and Mourinho has stood by his player, saying: "There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always."
On his Obi One Podcast, Mikel said he had expected Mourinho to acknowledge there was no place for racism and to wait for the investigation to conclude. Instead, the former Chelsea midfielder described Mourinho's comments about Vinicius's celebration as "clumsy" and a "massive, massive, huge mistake".
Mikel added that Mourinho is "a smart guy" and will be the first to admit he "f***** up", predicting he will eventually apologise or issue a statement. He stressed that no one who has played under Mourinho would question his stance on racism, but said the recent remarks were wrong.
