Vinicius reports racist insult during Benfica match | OneFootball

Real Madrid win overshadowed by new racism controversy

Vinicius reports racist insult during Benfica match

Vinicius Junior reported alleged racist insult during Real Madrid’s Champions League win over Benfica in Lisbon.

Match stopped after Vinicius complaint

Real Madrid took important step toward Champions League last 16 after beating Benfica away on Tuesday but the focus quickly shifted to a new racism controversy involving Vinicius Junior.

The match was stopped for around 10 minute after Vinicius informed referee Francois Letexier that Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni had directed racist insult at him. Vinicius claimed he was called “monkey”

Prestianni who appeared to cover his mouth while speaking, has denied making any racist comment.

First time a player is accused

This incident marked first time Vinicius has accused opposing player of racism. Until now most previous cases involved fans, mainly in Spain.

Despite scoring fine goal in Lisbon, the Brazilian winger once again found himself at the center of attention for reasons unrelated to football.

His complaint triggered the standard UEFA anti-racism protocol leading to temporary halt in play.

A Long history of abuse

Since joining Real Madrid from Flamengo in 2018, Vinicius has faced repeated racist abuse.

Some of the most serious cases include:

More recently, racist chants were also reported outside the stadium of Albacete during Copa del Rey tie.

Strong reactions from teammates

Vinicius later wrote on X that racists are “cowards” who hide their words. He repeated his stance that he is fighting racism, not suffering from it.

Teammate Kylian Mbappe publicly backed him and called for Prestianni to be banned from the competition saying such behavior should not be tolerated in the Champions League.