Real Madrid gathering information before taking action after racism incident targeting Vinicius | OneFootball

Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica at Estadio da Luz has been marred by a shameful display of racism.

After Vinicius Junior scored a sensational goal in the 50th minute, he was allegedly targeted by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni with racist slurs.

The incident was severe enough that referee Francois Letexier triggered the official anti-racism protocol, suspending play for 10 minutes as tensions boiled over between both sets of players and coaching staffs.

Real Madrid take a proactive stance

According to MARCA, Real Madrid are not standing idly by. The club have officially begun a process of gathering both visual and audio information regarding the events.

While the investigation includes the interaction between Prestianni and Vinicius, the club are also scrutinising the stands, where racist gestures were observed from specific sections of the home support following the goal celebration.

Real Madrid won’t be holding any prisoners as club look to investigate the Vinicius racism incident. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The club’s hierarchy is taking a nuanced approach, however. Madrid do not intend to generalise these isolated incidents of behaviour to the entire Benfica fanbase or the Portuguese institution itself.

In fact, the club acknowledged that the general atmosphere was appropriate for a historic European rivalry, admitting that such behaviour can unfortunately occur in any stadium, including the Bernabeu.

Despite the measured tone toward Benfica as a club, Real Madrid’s support for its players is absolute.

Both Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe have received the full backing of the club for their actions on the pitch and their subsequent statements in the mixed zone.

The two players themselves have shown great bonhomie, with Vinicius being moved by Mbappe’s decision to defend him publicly and call out Prestianni during the post-match press interaction.