Vinicius earns Real Madrid 1-0 win at Benfica in match marred by racism row
Al Jazeera
Match interrupted for several minutes after Madrid’s goalscorer Vinicius Jr accused opponent of racially insulting him.
Vinicius Jr scored a sublime second-half winner as Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 in their Champions League playoff first leg, a night overshadowed by the Brazilian accusing Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of directing a racist slur at him.
The alleged incident occurred moments after Vinicius had curled Real ahead, five minutes into the second half at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, before referee Francois Letexier halted the match for 11 minutes under FIFA’s antiracism protocol.
Television pictures showed the Argentinian winger covering his mouth with his shirt before making a comment that Vinicius and nearby teammates interpreted as a racial slur against the 25-year-old, who has repeatedly suffered racism in Spain during matches.
“It is unbelievable that, with dozens of cameras in the stadium, that none could have caught [Prestianni’s] racial slur, but if you cover your mouth to say something, that says a lot,” Real captain Federico Valverde told Movistar Plus.
“According to my teammates who were close, they heard something very ugly. Many people have been fighting against racism in football; Vinicius is one of them. I’m proud of him and his great game.”
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