'Emotional' Mourinho should apologise - McCarthy
Benni McCarthy says Jose Mourinho should admit his "mistake" following the Benfica manager's post-match comments after Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr claimed he was racially abused.
'Emotional' Mourinho should apologise - McCarthy
Former South Africa striker Benni McCarthy says Jose Mourinho should apologise for his "very wrong" comments after the alleged racial abuse of Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr.
The Brazil forward scored the only goal in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League win against Benfica on Tuesday.
Vinicius was booked for his goal celebration and the match was halted for 10 minutes shortly afterwards when the Brazilian reported alleged racist abuse from winger Gianluca Prestianni.
Uefa have since opened an investigation into the claims, which Prestianni denies.
Speaking after the match, Benfica boss Mourinho - who was sent off late in the game for arguing with the referee - said Vinicius had been "disrespectful" with his goal celebration and pointed to the club's legendary striker Eusebio as proof that Benfica is not a racist club.
But McCarthy, who won the Champions League under Mourinho at Porto in 2004, says the Portuguese made a "mistake" with his comments.
"The situation, he could have handled it better or chosen his words better but emotions got the best of him," McCarthy told BBC World Service presenter Isaac Fanin.
"I know the statement he made was very wrong. But we're all human, we all make mistakes.
"When it comes from somebody I know personally and I know how he feels about our continent and our people and the players that play for him, he's the most stand-up guy that any African player will ever play for.
"I think it was an emotional decision, tough, where he maybe made a call and it wasn't the right call which he will later, hopefully come out and say that he made a mistake because that's what I would like to think, that's the kind of man he is."
Vinicius, who has been a victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career, later said in a post on Instagram: "Racists are, above all, cowards."
Benfica have defended Prestianni and claim there is a "defamation campaign" against the Argentine.
Prestianni, who could face a minimum 10-match ban from European competition if found guilty, denied directing racial abuse at Vinicius.
'People aren't open to talking about it'
On Thursday, Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said there must be a zero-tolerance policy applied to anyone found guilty of racist behaviour in football.
He said: "If any player, any coach or any manager is found guilty of racism, they shouldn't be in the game. It's as simple as that."
The former Hull City boss added that the problems were not confined to football and that racism is a problem across society.
"A lot of things (need to change), this is a very complex situation when you speak about race or gender. There are a lot of things that need to change in society," said Rosenior.
"It sickens me to be honest. I think there's a wider debate than football. I think there needs to be more accountability for these things that need to be stamped out.
McCarthy agrees that the problem of racism extends far beyond football.
"In society today, people aren't open to talking about it. We still don't have these conversations," he said.
"There's one race that wants to have this conversation and the other race isn't ready. In anger, you can come out with a phrase like that but you're quick to say I'm not a racist.
"Yet you use the underlying racist thing when you're angry. For this problem to go away, both parties and both races have to be willing to talk about these things."
- Vinicius: Eight years at Real Madrid, 20 cases of alleged racist abuse
- Real Madrid tie halted over Vinicius racism allegation
- 'Anyone found guilty of racism should not be in the game'
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Howe delivers ‘nasty’ Newcastle injury update ahead of Man City clash
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe says that Yoane Wissa is likely to miss this weekend’s game against Manchester City after taking a “nasty knock” in training.
The Magpies travel to Eastlands this Saturday just weeks after losing 3-1 at the same venue in the semi-finals of the League Cup.
Howe will be without several key players, however, as he could be missing up to seven first-team members through injury.
‘Nasty’ Newcastle United injury update ahead of Man City clash
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he provided updates on the condition of Wissa, Bruno Guimarães, Tino Livramento, Sven Botman and Lewis Miley.
Wissa missed the trip to Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League in midweek with a knock, but Howe is optimistic he will be available for selection next week.
“No I don’t think he will be available but I don’t think he will be far off the Qarabag game. It was a nasty knock in training,” he said.
Bruno, meanwhile, is back in his home country of Brazil after suffering a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for two months.
“No massive updates, he’s in Brazil. And judging by the pictures I’ve seen, which was great to see, he’s watching the games and his passion for the team is shining through from afar.”
Livramento is still set to return from a hamstring issue of his own in March. “Tino is making progress but I don’t think we’ll shave too much time off the early March timeframe he has.”
Botman has missed the last two games with a back problem, but could be involved this weekend, while Miley will remain out of action for another two weeks with a dead leg.
“Hopefully better news for Sven Botman, hopefully he can be in and around this game. Miley still has got a bit to go.”
Howe added: “Lewis had a dead leg, but it disturbed a bit of the muscle. Nothing more than a week or a couple of weeks, maximum. But we’ve been told we’ve got to be careful with it.”
Read – Elanga backs Howe to turn Newcastle United’s season around
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Barcelona given major boost as Gavi closes in on return to action
The medical room at Barcelona is beginning to look a little less busy this week, with Marcus Rashford and Pedri training with the group again on Wednesday. There is also positive news on the injury status of Gavi, who has played just 66 minutes this season.
The 21-year-old midfielder featured in Barcelona’s first two games of the season, coming on in a 3-0 win over RCD Mallorca and providing an assist for Lamine Yamal, and then playing 45 minutes against Levante. However he suffered knee pain after that match, and has been making his way back since.
Originally attempting conservative treatment, after more than a month waiting for improvement, Gavi was eventually forced to undergo an arthroscopy in order to address his knee problem. His expected time out was four to five months, a deadline he has now reached.
Gavi begins training with Barcelona teammates
On Friday, the big positive for Barcelona was that Gavi returned to training with the rest of the team. MD say that Gavi did part of the session with the rest of the group, and has increased the intensity of his work. While it will still be a while before he begins playing again, it is now more likely to be weeks rather than months until he comes back.
ENTRENO FC BARCELONA EN GOYANG, COREA. GIRA FC BARCELONA EN COREA (SEUL). FOTO: VALENTI ENRICH
He is unlikely to be a major factor for Barcelona for the remainder of the season, but by April could be in a position to begin contributing more, which could be key if the Blaugrana are keen to rotate.
Pedri and Marcus Rashford expected to return for Levante
That was not the only positive news for Barcelona, who also have Pedri and Marcus Rashford training with the group again, after seven and two-game absences respectively. Eric Garcia has also escaped injury after coming off early against Girona. Pedri is expected to play the final stages against Levante, while Rashford should be fit for a larger role.