soccer

McCarthy: Mourinho should apologize for Vinicius comments

Former South Africa striker Benni McCarthy says Jose Mourinho should apologize for his "very wrong" comments regarding Vinicius Jr after the Real Madrid winger reported alleged racial abuse in Tuesday's Champions League match.

Vinicius scored the only goal in Real Madrid's 1-0 win against Benfica but was booked for his celebration. The Brazilian reported alleged racist abuse from Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, causing a 10-minute match halt. Uefa have opened an investigation into the claims, which Prestianni denies.

After the match, Mourinho - who was sent off - said Vinicius had been "disrespectful" and claimed Benfica is not a racist club. McCarthy, who won the Champions League under Mourinho at Porto in 2004, said the Portuguese made a "mistake" with his comments, calling it an "emotional decision" and hoping he'll apologize. Vinicius later posted on Instagram: "Racists are, above all, cowards."