Ex-Sporting player joins Benfica-Real Madrid racism row: "Fire at racists" | OneFootball

Matheus Reis, who just a few weeks ago left Sporting and moved to CSKA Moscow, was one of the players to speak out in the case of Vinícius Júnior’s accusation of racism against Gianluca Prestianni during the match between Benfica and Real Madrid.

“Dance, Vini! Fire to the racists!” he wrote on Instagram, in a post featuring the Brazilian international winger dancing by the corner flag after scoring the goal that secured victory for the Spanish club. This was the episode that sparked the controversial moment.

It is worth recalling that during his time at Sporting, the Brazilian was involved in some controversial incidents, notably in last season’s Portuguese Cup final against Benfica, in which he stepped on the head of Andrea Belotti—an incident that went unnoticed during the match, but later resulted in a five-game suspension for the Brazilian.

Luisão, a legend of the Eagles, also condemned and strongly criticized the act of the young Argentine forward against Vinícius Júnior. “It was a racist move, yes, and I am ashamed of it,” he declared on his social media.

It’s worth noting that with this result, Benfica gets off to a bad start in the Champions League “play-off”, falling behind the Merengues. However, since the difference is only by the narrowest of margins, nothing is decided yet and everything will be settled in the second leg, at the Bernabéu Stadium, on February 25.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.