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UEFA INVESTIGATION: EMERGENCY PROBE LAUNCHED INTO BENFICA VS REAL MADRID VINíCIUS JR RACISM ALLEGATIONS
Is UEFA doing enough? Analyse the Vinícius racism storm, Mourinho’s comments, and Trent Alexander-Arnold's "disgrace" reaction.
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A Champions League match ground to a halt for nearly ten minutes after Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior accused a Benfica player of racist abuse.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Madrid’s defender, didn’t hold back;At theback; he called it “a disgrace to football.” Benfica manager Jose Mourinho saw things differently and blamed Vinícius for provoking the Benfica players and fans with his goal celebration in Madrid’s 1-0 win.
Here’s what happened: Vinícius had just curled a beautiful shot into the top corner. Right after, French referee François Letexier stopped the game in the 5signallinge, signaling with his arms that something serious had happened an accusation of racism.
Benfica fans reacted right away. They started throwing bottles and other stuff at the Madrid players after Vinícius celebrated by dancing near the corner flag.
Then Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni walked up to Vinícius, said something, but covered his mouth with his shirt. Vinícius immediately pointed at Prestianni and ran straight to the referee. TV cameras caught Vinícius telling Letexier that Prestianni"monkey".im “monkey.”
After the game, Vinícius posted a photo on Instagram, celebrating next to the Benfica corner flag. His caption was blunt: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. Nothing that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family's life. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't know why.”
As soon as Viníc, hepoke up he’s faced racist abuse in Spain before the referee stopped the match. Vinícius sat in the dugout, and some of his teammates drifted over to the sideline. Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouaméni said later that the team thought about walking off, but in the end, they kept playing. Mbappé checked with Vinícius first to see what he wanted to do.
Alexander-Arnold summed up everyone’s feelings after the match: “What’s happened tonight is a disgrace to football. It’s overshadowed the performance, especially after such an amazing goal. Vini’s been subjected to this a few times throughout his career, and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a disgrace. There’s no place for it in football or society. It’s disgusting.”
Prestianni, just 20, stood off to the side while Vinícius talked to the referee. Madrid’s Federico Valverde said, “The players who were near said that [Prestianni] said something ugly that shouldn’t be said. If you cover your mouth to say something, it’s because you’re saying something not nice. I’m proud of my teammates who defended Vini, and of Vini.”
Benfica’s side told a different story. Leandro Barreiro saihim,“I asked him and he said it was a normal provocation between players during a match. He said it was nothing racist.”
Both coaches, Mourinho and Madrid’s Álvaro Arbeloa, spoke to Vinícius on the sidelines. Mourinho tried to stay criticisedt criticized Vinícius for celebrating near the Benfica fans. “Unfortunately he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal,” Mourinho said. “When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way. There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. The stadium where Vinicius played, something happened. Always.”
The referee signalled he didn’t hear anything and pointed out that Prestianni had his shirt over his mouth. Prestianni didn’t get a yellow card and kept playing until he was subbed off in the 81st minute, with Benfica fans applauding him.
When the match restarted, Vinícius was booed loudly by the home crowd every time he touched the ball. Late in the game, a bottle thrown from the crowd hit him near the sideline. The referee asked for a stadium announcement, warning fans to stop throwing things on the field.
Mbappé, who stood up for Vinícius during the confrontation, got jeered too. Cameras caught him apparently telling Prestianni he was a racist, with some choice words.
“We can’t accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like that,” Mbappé said. “He shouldn’t keep playing in the competition. Let’s see what happens now.”
ARTICLE 14: WHY A 10-MATCH BAN FOR PRESTIANNI WOULD BE A HISTORIC UEFA PRECEDENT
UEFA is investigating alleged racist abuse against Vinícius Jr. Discover why Mbappé wants a lifetime ban for Gianluca Prestianni.
UEFA has put out a statement about the alleged racist abuse Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr faced during the Champions League playoff against Benfica.
Vinicius scored a brilliant goal in the second half, sealing a 1-0 win for Madrid in the first leg on Tuesday night. But the match took a dark turn when Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni allegedly made a racist remark during Vinicius’s celebration.
Right after, Vinicius ran straight to the referee to report what happened. That set off a heated scene. The game stopped for 10 minutes while players argued, and several Madrid teammates spoke up afterwards, saying Prestianni called Vinicius a “monkey.”
Vinicius left the pitch after the incident, with his teammates following him before play eventually resumed.
Prestianni denies everything. Benfica’s manager, Jose Mourinho, tried to stay neutral; he wouldn’t take a side. He did admit he felt Vinicius had provoked the crowd and Benfica players with his celebration, and referee François Letexier gave Vinicius a yellow card for it.
Now, UEFA says they’re looking into things. If the referee’s report includes the incident, they’ll launch an investigation.
Here’s what UEFA said: “The official reports from the matches played last night are currently being reviewed. If matters are reported, proceedings are opened, and if disciplinary sanctions are imposed, they’re announced on the UEFA disciplinary website. We don’t have more information or further comment right now.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Vinicius has dealt with racist abuse. He’s faced it from fans across Spain in recent years, sparking the “Baila Vini” hashtag as support poured in for him on social media.
Kylian Mbappe, who played alongside Vinicius, has spoken out too. He’s demanding a lifetime ban for Prestianni, saying he heard the slur himself. Mbappe also said he walked off the field at Vinicius’s request and insists Prestianni shouldn’t play in the Champions League again.
Benfica pushed back on that claim. They posted a video on X showing Mbappe wasn’t near Vinicius and Prestianni when the incident happened. The club also released a statement addressing the rumours about what went on in the tunnel at Estadio da Luz.
EUSéBIO REFERENCE: WHY DID MOURINHO USE A CLUB LEGEND TO DEFEND A RACISM ACCUSATION?
Is Mourinho wrong? Analyse the fallout of the Vinícius racism incident, featuring insights from Seedorf, Henry, and Walcott.
During Real Madrid's Champions League match at Benfica, an incident of alleged racist abuse against Vinicius Junior occurred, sparking widespread condemnation. Trent Alexander-Arnold called it a disgrace to football, while Jose Mourinho's comments on the matter drew criticism.
The game was paused for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported that Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni had allegedly hurled racist insults at him. Vinicius and his teammates briefly left the field in response.
Vinicius, who has faced racist abuse before, posted on Instagram that racists are, above all, cowards.
Benfica's manager, Mourinho, suggested that Vinicius didn't celebrate respectfully after scoring a goal in the 1-0 victory. This happened just before the incident at the Estadio da Luz.
Mourinho commented, 'Something is wrong because it happens at every stadium.' Wherever Vinicius plays, something always happens.
Clarence Seedorf, a former Real Madrid midfielder, responded to Mourinho's claims on Amazon Prime, saying, 'I think he's still emotional and made a mistake justifying racial abuse.' Saying it's OK to be racist when Vinicius provokes you is wrong. We should never justify racial abuse. Vinicius has had enough unjustified behaviour. Mourinho deep down would agree, but he misspoke.
Alexander-Arnold, speaking after the match, said, 'What happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance and the amazing goal.' Vini has experienced this before. Ruining a night like this is a disgrace. There's no place for it in football or society. It's disgusting.
Mourinho spoke with Vinicius after the player walked off the pitch following the exchange with Prestianni.
Mourinho said that Vinicius and Prestianni gave conflicting accounts of the incident. He also mentioned Benfica's legendary striker, Eusebio, to argue that Benfica isn't a racist club, while also saying he felt Vinicius incited the crowd with his celebration.
'Yes, I believe so,' Mourinho stated. It should be a crazy moment, an amazing goal. But he wasn't just happy to score that goal. When you score like that, you celebrate respectfully.
He added, 'I told Vinicius to just celebrate and walk back.' When he argued about racism, I reminded him that Eusebio, the biggest person in this club's history, was Black. This club is the last thing from racist. If he thought something related to that, this is Benfica.
They told me different things. I don't believe either one – I want to be independent.
Theo Walcott said on Amazon Prime after hearing Mourinho's interview, 'I'm usually calm and don't get angry often.'
I admire Jose Mourinho's work in football, but he made a poor decision here. This was a time he shouldn't have spoken, a night he should have stayed away from cameras.
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius' teammate at Real Madrid, suggested that Prestianni should be banned from the Champions League because of the alleged incident.
Mbappe stated, 'This has never happened to me.' It's important to be clear, not general, on important matters like this. I respect Benfica and their coach, one of history's best, who made history with Real Madrid. But this player doesn't deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.
We can't accept this behaviour in Europe's top competition. This guy doesn't deserve to play in the Champions League, but we'll see. We'll leave it to Uefa, who always try to act. They have a serious case now, and I hope they do something.
Prestianni has not yet commented.
With the second leg coming up next Wednesday in Madrid, Walcott urged UEFA to take swift action.
This needs immediate action, not months of waiting, Walcott said.
Thierry Henry, speaking on CBS, talked about his own experiences with racist abuse as a player.
I can relate to what Vinicius Junior is going through. It happened to me many times on the field. Sometimes you feel alone because it's your word against theirs, since we don't know what he said, Henry shared.
He covered his mouth with his shirt. He already looks suspicious because he didn't want people to see what he said.
Let's see if Prestianni will tell us what he said.
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