Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Benfica descended into chaos on Tuesday night after Vinicius Jr was allegedly racially abused, leading to a 10-minute halt in play and the Brazilian forward visibly fighting back tears on the pitch.
The flashpoint came moments after Vinicius had scored a stunning goal to put Madrid ahead. As he celebrated, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni approached him, pulled his shirt up over his mouth, and appeared to direct a comment at the Madrid star. Whatever was said, it stopped Vinicius cold. Instead of celebrating with his teammates, he ran straight to the referee, Francois Letexier, his face a mask of distress.
Letexier immediately stopped the game, crossing his arms in front of his face to trigger FIFA’s anti-racism protocol. For the next ten minutes, the stadium watched an uncomfortable scene unfold. A clearly upset Vinicius was consoled by opponents, including Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, who spoke earnestly with him. A member of the Benfica coaching staff was shown a red card during the chaos, and the referee was surrounded by players from both sides trying to understand what had happened. When play finally resumed, the damage was done—the joy of a wonderful goal had been completely overshadowed.
The bad blood boiled over again in stoppage time, forcing another brief delay as objects were hurled from the crowd while Vinicius attempted to take a corner.
After the match, Vinicius took to Instagram, his words heavy with exhaustion. "Racists are, above all, cowards," he wrote. "They need to put their shirts over their mouths to demonstrate how weak they are... Nothing that happened here today was new in my life and my family's."
His teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold didn't hide his disgust. "What's happened tonight is a disgrace to football," he said. "Vini has been subjected to this a few times throughout his career. There's no place for it in football or society. It's disgusting."
The night was further soured by Mourinho's post-match comments. While insisting Benfica wasn't a racist club, he suggested Vinicius’s celebrations provoke the abuse, saying, "There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium."
Former Real Madrid star Clarence Seedorf, working as a pundit, was quick to challenge him. "I think he made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse," Seedorf said. "We should never, ever justify it."
