Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said the alleged abuse of team-mate Vinicius was a “disgrace to football”.
“What has happened is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance, as well as an amazing goal,” said Alexander-Arnold.
“Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace.
“There is no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting.”
Former Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf, working as a pundit for Amazon Prime said Mourinho “made a big mistake to justify racial abuse”.
“I think he is still emotional,” said the Dutchman.
“He’s saying it’s OK, when Vinicius provokes you, to be racist – and I think that is very wrong.
“We should never, ever justify racial abuse. Vinicius has had enough of that unjustified behaviour from people. I know Mourinho by heart would agree with me but he expressed himself a bit unfortunately.”
Former England and Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, who was working alongside Seedorf, also condemned Mourinho’s comments.
“I am quite calm and composed and I am not someone who gets angry often,” said Walcott.
“I love everything Jose Mourinho has done in football but he has made a poor decision. It was maybe the one time we shouldn’t have heard from him, the one night he should not have been in front of the cameras.”
Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry, speaking on CBS, reflected on his own experiences of racist abuse during his playing career.
“I can relate to what Vinicius Junior is going through. That happened to me so many times on the field. At times you feel lonely because it’s going to be your word against his word, because we don’t know what he has said,” Henry said.
“He put his shirt over his mouth. Clearly, already, he looks suspicious because he didn’t want people to see what he said.
“Let’s see how big of a man Prestianni is – tell us what you said.”
