Vinicius Junior scored a sensational goal to earn Real Madrid a 1-0 Champions League play-off first leg victory at Benfica on Tuesday, although the match was marred by apparent racist abuse aimed at the Brazilian.
After curling into the top corner in the 50th minute, Vinicius seemed to argue with Gianluca Prestianni, after which he complained to French referee Francois Letexier, who halted the match for more than 10 minutes as he applied the racism protocol.
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Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was sent off in the final stages of a spiky game for complaining too vociferously, meaning he will miss the second leg against his former team at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid earned a narrow and nervy victory at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon to take an advantage into that clash, as well as avenging their dramatic 4-2 defeat by Benfica in the league phase.
That collapse dragged the record 15-time champions down into the play-off round while helping Mourinho’s side reach it by the skin of their teeth.
However, this was a far different affair, with Arbeloa’s Madrid much sturdier than a few weeks ago.
They were bolstered by French superstar Kylian Mbappe’s return after he sat out of their last game because of knee discomfort.
Vinicius, back to his vibrant best since Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm in January, dragged the first good chance of the game inches wide of the far post.
Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a fine save to keep out Fredrik Aursnes’s deflected effort from distance as Benfica held their own.
Madrid’s quality began to shine through before the interval, with Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who scored a stunning late goal when the teams met in January, denying Mbappe and Arda Guler.
The Ukrainian stopper could do nothing, though, about Vinicius’s sensational strike after 50 minutes.
– Racism protocol –
On the left of the area, with nothing else on, Vinicius curled a sumptuous effort into the top corner to put Madrid ahead.
The Brazilian was booked for his dancing celebration in front of Benfica’s supporters.
That sparked an exchange with Prestianni, who pulled his shirt over his mouth before seeming to say something to Vinicius.
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The Brazilian then ran over to Letexier and, pointing at Prestianni, seemed to claim that he had been called “mono”, the Spanish word for monkey.
The official activated the racism protocol, and Vinicius sat in Madrid’s dug-out, with the game on hold for several minutes.
When it eventually resumed, Vinicius was jeered by Benfica supporters, and three times denied by Trubin in the minutes that followed.
Mourinho was sent off in the 85th minute as he appealed for a second yellow card for Vinicius, costing him a spot on the bench back at his old hunting round, where he led Madrid between 2010 and 2013.
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The long stoppage led to 12 minutes of added-on time, but Benfica could not use them to find an equaliser, and face an uphill struggle to progress in the Spanish capital next week.
The match was also stopped multiple times in the several half, particularly when Vinicius was near the sidelines.
“Benfica will face serious ramifications for this,” one commentator said during one stoppage at the corner flag, before the other added: “Disgusting, isn’t it? You don’t want to see that.”
Real’s Vinicius hits out at ‘cowards’ after racism storm against Benfica
Match-winner Vinicius Junior hit out at “cowards” after accusing Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him.
“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to show how weak they are,” Vinicius wrote on Instagram in reference to Prestianni having hidden his mouth with his jersey during the pair’s clash.
“But they have, at their side, the protection of others who, theoretically, are obligated to punish,” he added after the racism protocol did not lead to any concrete action against Benfica’s Argentine midfielder.
“Nothing that happened today should be tolerated in my life or my family’s.
“I don’t like to speak out in situations like this, especially after a big victory when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Benfica coach Mourinho said that Prestianni had denied racially abusing Vinicius, and hit out at the Brazilian for inciting Benfica’s players and fans with his celebration.
“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” said Mourinho.
“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium — where Vinicius plays, something happens, always.”
– ‘It’s disgusting’ –
Real’s England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident had left a sour taste in the mouth.
“It’s disgusting. What’s happened tonight is a disgrace for football. It’s ruined the night for the team,” he said.
Real forward Kylian Mbappe called on Prestianni to be banned.
“We cannot accept there’s a player playing in Europe’s best competition and behaving like this,” the France captain told reporters.
“This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League again.
“Benfica’s number 25, I don’t want to say his name, he doesn’t deserve it, started speaking badly to him. It’s unacceptable, but it has happened and will happen. But then he lifted his shirt to say that Vini is a monkey five times, I heard it. There are Benfica players who heard it too. And after this point, everything that was seen started.”
Real captain Federico Valverde said he was proud of how Vinicius had handled himself in the circumstances.
“I don’t know what he (Prestianni) said, but all the team-mates who were close by said he said something ugly, something he shouldn’t say,” Valverde told Movistar.
“If you cover your mouth to say something it’s because he’s saying something that’s not good,” added Valverde.
“In the end I’m proud of the team-mates that defended Vini, proud of Vini who kept on going, played a spectacular game and that’s what I’ll remember from him.” Vinicius, 25, has been targeted with racial abuse during his time in Spain on several occasions by opposition fans.
Four Atletico Madrid ultras were handed suspended jail sentences in June last year for hanging a dummy of Vinicius from a bridge in what police deemed a “hate crime”, among several other court convictions.
In May 2023, Vinicius squared off with fans at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium after being racially abused.
“It’s been happening for a long time. Many people have fought (against) this, Vini is one of those who have fought about this, and it keeps happening,” added Valverde.
Some Benfica fans pelted Real players with projectiles as they celebrated Vinicius’s goal.
The whole incident sparked angry clashes between the two benches, with Letexier showing a red card to a member of the Real backroom staff.
After a break of more than 10 minutes, due to Letexier implementing the racism protocol, the match resumed, with Real comfortably seeing out the victory.
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