Vinicius Jr racism allegation delays Benfica v Real Madrid UEFA Champions League play-off by 10 minutes

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Vinicius Junior alleged that he was racially abused soon after scoring a stunning goal for Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League play-off first leg away to Benfica, leading to a 10-minute delay and ugly scenes in Lisbon. Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt before speaking to Vinicius, leading to the furious Real star making a complaint to the French referee.

'Top drawer, top corner, top class' - Vinicius Jr scores a worldie for Madrid to break the deadlock

Video credit: TNT Sports

Vinicius Junior reported alleged racial abuse as Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League play-off first leg against Benfica was halted for 10 minutes at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night.

Twenty days after Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a stunning 98th-minute goal to send Jose Mourinho's into their play-off encounter against Madrid, the teams' latest meeting was marred by ugly scenes in Lisbon.

Following a goalless first-half, Vinicius broke the deadlock with a stunning finish, curled into the top corner to temporarily silence the home crowd.

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His celebrations in front of the Benfica supporters, however, drew a yellow card from French match official Francois Letexier.

As the Madrid players returned to their positions for the restart, Vinicius was seen in conversation with Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, who appeared to say something to the Brazil forward while obstructing part of his face with his shirt, leading to a 10-minute delay to proceedings.

Prestianni is 'cowardly' for covering face in Vinicius racism row, says Cole

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Vinicius immediately reported the alleged comment from Prestianni to referee Letexier, who subsequently crossed over his arms to signal UEFA's protocol for a complaint of racial abuse.

A visibly irate Vinicius then walked towards the away dugout and was seen in animated conversation with Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho, who would later be shown a red card for an unrelated incident.

After a delay of approximately 10 minutes Vinicius was jeered whenever he was in possession of the ball. The vitriol intensified each time Madrid won a corner in front of the same section of the crowd that Vinicius celebrated his goal with a number of objects thrown towards the playing surface.

At least one item - a water bottle - struck Vinicius but the match was played to its conclusion with Madrid securing a 1-0 win, though the tension lingered long after the final whistle.

Referee Letexier signals racist incident reported by Vinicius with crossed arms

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In the aftermath, team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold described the alleged racist abuse as a "disgrace to football."

"It’s a difficult situation," he told Amazon Prime Video. "Hopefully there’s justice. There is no place for it in football or society."

Cole: Prestianni actions were cowardly

In the TNT Sports studio, Joe Cole and Karen Carney called on UEFA to act decisively by opening an investigation into the incident.

Cole said of Vinicius: "His goal was genius. He lit up the game. There are certain players and he's one of them... elite players in the world that can do things like that. It was a wonderful finish. That is a thing of beauty, it's an art form.

"He gets booked for his celebration, the Benfica players come over, and there is [Gianluca] Prestianni... he's the alleged culprit on this occasion.

Highlights: Vini Jr stunner sees Real edge first leg

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"Vinicius is given the yellow card for those over-exuberant celebrations. I've got no problem with the yellow card, and I've also got no problem with Vinicius, because it's character.

"What Prestianni did was cowardly [covering his mouth]. If you've got something to say to someone, don't lift your shirt. We can't say what the kid [Prestianni] said, because he's holding his shirt up, but just the act of holding it to your face is cowardly."

Vinicius has been subjected to repeated incidents of racist abuse, turning one of the game's brightest talents into an enduring symbol of football's ongoing struggle with discrimination.

Vinicius Junior was allegedly racially abused during Real Madrid's win at Benfica

Image credit: Getty Images

There was, however, a landmark development last year when five individuals were handed suspended prison sentences for racially abusing him - the first time a conviction for racism at a football match in Spain resulted in such a ruling.

"It's such a tricky situation for UEFA to navigate through," continued Cole. "The protocol's there for the right reasons, and football needs to be seen to stamp out racism. I think there's an easy solution for this.

"I'm sure Vinicius Jr will say he said something, I'm sure Prestianni will say he said something else.

"He's clearly got his face covered talking to Vinicius, and I think now UEFA need to do more on the protocol and say when there's an incident like that, any player saying anything, if you're covering your mouth... yellow card, red card straight away.

A bottle is hurled at Vinicius Junior from the stands late in the game

Image credit: Getty Images

"It's cowardly. In any situation, whatever you say, if you're talking to someone, you should be able to stand by whatever you say.

"So there's no doubt he said something very, very bad that's affected Vinicius, but UEFA are in a predicament because they're going to have one person saying one thing, and they're going to have another person saying something else.

"To really do it properly and activate this, if we're on a football pitch and we've got the whole of the world watching us as footballers and we're role models, whatever we say, we have to stand by it.

"I don't know what the kid said, you can't say he's guilty but covering your face is cowardly in any situation. That needs to be stopped, and that way, none of these players are going to say anything wrong.

Vinicius gesticulates with Jose Mourinho on the sidelines after the incident

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"There's going to be massive pressure on UEFA to stand by Vinicius and believe what he says. But you're in a situation where it's going to be one person's word against the other.

"He is a genius footballer and I don't think he's lying. It's a messy moment but Vinicius has done the right thing. He's had enough of all of the rubbish he's been taking and he's standing up to it."

In 2009, UEFA introduced a three-step protocol to confront racism inside stadiums, granting referees clear authority to suspend - and ultimately abandon - matches if discriminatory behaviour persists.

Under the framework, play is first halted when an incident is identified, with a public address announcement warning that racist conduct must stop.

Should the abuse continue, the referee suspends the match for five to 10 minutes and directs players off the pitch while a further warning is issued. If there is no improvement after the restart, the referee has the power to call the game off entirely.

Any decision to abandon a match is made only after assessing the safety of players and spectators, with the matter subsequently referred to UEFA’s disciplinary authorities.

Vinicius celebrates after scoring a brilliant goal to break the deadlock in Lisbon

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Carney told TNT Sports: "I think the protocol is there for a reason, it's good to see that it's been used. Obviously now it's down to UEFA and everybody involved to find out what happened and what's said because it's been reported and it's really important there's the protocol put in place.

"It's really important now to find out what's happened because he lifted up his shirt.

"If there is racial abuse, UEFA will have to come down and be strong about this and make sure it doesn't happen again. Vinicius has been vocal about this in the past.

"There will have to be a big investigation to find out exactly what was said. He's done everything right [reporting the alleged abuse]. He's an unbelievable player that's scored an unbelievable goal that will be overshadowed. He's gone over and reported what he feels he has heard.

"The protocol has been put in place, and you have to go and do an investigation into it. It's been reported and, from Vinicius' perspective, he will hope that the right thing is done.

"If there is evidence to support that there has been a form of racist abuse, then UEFA will have to act strongly on it. This is a player that's been subject to it numerous times. As a human being, he's rightfully had enough of it."

Vinicius breaks silence on social media

Vinicius later posted on Instagram to describe UEFA's official steps to address such incidents as a "poorly executed protocol."

He wrote: "Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.

"But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team's life.

"I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.

"I don't like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it's necessary."

Mourinho: Benfica is not racist

Mourinho gave a somewhat provocative interpretation of the night’s events, arguing that Vinicius's celebration acted as the catalyst for the acrimonious scenes that followed.

Speaking to Amazon Prime Video after the match, the Benfica manager framed the moment as one that should have belonged purely to footballing brilliance.

Mourinho clashes with Vinicius on the sidelines

Image credit: Getty Images

"It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal in a good game... these talents are able to do these beautiful things but unfortunately he [Vinicius] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that you celebrate in a respectful way."

Pressed on whether he believed the Brazilian had incited both opposition players and sections of the crowd, Mourinho was unequivocal. "Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don’t comment about it."

He maintained that he had personally called for Vinicius to show restraint.

"I told him that when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back," Mourinho added. "And then when he was arguing about racism I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black [Eusebio]. This club, the last thing it is, is racist. If in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.

"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always."

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