What should have been a celebration of elite European football at the Estadio da Luz turned into a scene of anger and dejection on Tuesday night. Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Benfica in their Champions League Round of 32 first leg was overshadowed by a 10-minute stoppage after Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racist abuse.
The match reached its breaking point moments after Vinicius Jr curled a sensational strike into the far top corner to give Madrid the lead.
Celebration: Vinicius celebrated by dancing near the corner flag. The home crowd reacted by throwing bottles and debris at the Madrid players.
Insult: Amid the chaos, 20-year-old Argentine forward Gianluca Prestianni confronted Vinicius, covering his mouth with his jersey.
Reaction: Vinicius immediately pointed at Prestianni and alerted French referee Francois Letexier, reporting that he had been called "mono" (monkey).
Protocol: Letexier halted play for nearly 10 minutes. While Vinicius sat in the dugout and teammates like Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni discussed leaving the pitch, the team eventually decided to finish the match.
The aftermath of the game saw a sharp divide in narratives between the two camps.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: "What happened tonight is a disgrace to football. It has overshadowed the performance... it's disgusting."
Kylian Mbappe: The Frenchman was vocal on the pitch, allegedly calling Prestianni a "fucking racist." Post-match, he claimed Prestianni used the slur five times.
Vinicius Junior: Posted on Instagram: "Racists are, above all, cowards... Nothing that happened today is new to me. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't know why."
Jose Mourinho: While acknowledging the "ugly" nature of the confrontation, Mourinho criticized Vinícius’s celebration. "When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way." He also noted that Benfica's greatest legend, Eusebio, was Black, but questioned why Vinícius is targeted "in every stadium."
Gianluca Prestianni: Denied all allegations of racism, claiming it was "normal provocation" between players.
Statistically, Vinicius has become the most targeted player for racial abuse in European football over the last three seasons, with over 12 reported incidents leading to legal or disciplinary action in Spain alone since 2023.
