Vincent Kompany: ‘I don’t want to burn anyone at the stake, but leaders must take action’

He was “disguised” and “wanted to go home ASAP”. She posted pictures of the troubled Vincent Kompany last Sunday. “He reacted as a person, not as a coach,” says Anderlecht’s coach now. “I wanted to go home, but the next day I was ready to work twice as hard again. The advantage is that you as a coach are so busy that you have to move on to the next match right away.”

Kompany hasn’t been depressed in recent days. It seems like “something has come loose, but I didn’t necessarily think about it and live my life with my head held high”. “I’m not necessarily bad about it. I’m naturally obligated and I don’t want people to be burned at the stake.”

Don’t set things straight

The RSCA coach also indicated that he prefers not to talk about racism all week. “I prefer to prepare for tomorrow’s game, not at the same time to have a social discussion, but I also can’t escape from what happened,” says Kompany. “It’s an uncomfortable discussion, but it’s good to have, because we shouldn’t underestimate it. Racism may be committed by individuals, but it happens quite often, including in youth football. So we should definitely not put things in perspective, because Racism in football is not unique.”

According to Kompany, the solution to the problem is up to others. “There is a certain minimum about how we treat each other,” the text reads. “It is up to the CEOs to take action. It is easy to show good intentions, but it is much more difficult to take real action. It will not be resolved in one, two or three, but it has to happen. First of all, we need to start treating each other as human beings. I don’t want to be the one to take the hits, and then go looking for revenge. It’s not for me to judge the punishments. Others are responsible for it.”