The Champions League knockout playoff between Benfica and Real Madrid was delayed by 10 minutes on Tuesday night as Vinicius Junior walked off the pitch following an incident. The Brazil attacker had just scored an outstanding opening goal in the 50th minute of the match in Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz when anger built among home supporters, objects raining down on the pitch as Vinicius celebrated by the corner flag. The exuberance of his celebrations earned Vinicius a yellow card from referee Francois Letexier while tensions frayed between both sets of players.
It was soon after that Vinicius sprinted over to Letexier and was seen pointing at Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni. The French referee made a gesture of crossed arms above his head, an initiative adopted by FIFA in 2024 to allow players and officials to signal that they believe racist abuse has taken place on the field.
Television cameras caught Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni speaking to Vinicius with his jersey covering his mouth; the Real Madrid man appeared to subsequently make reference to that while speaking to Letexier. At the time of writing, it has not been confirmed that Prestianni is the figure alleged to have abused Vinicius.
Meanwhile, a member of the Benfica coaching staff was shown a red card as tempers built across the field. Vinicius was spotted in an embrace with Jose Mourinho before sitting on the Madrid bench, the delay to proceedings running to 10 minutes before the match was resumed at the hour mark. Though there were no further flashpoints between the players, Vinicius’ every touch was booed by the Estadio da Luz and the game was stopped momentarily in the 96th minute as items were thrown onto the pitch by supporters and once again in the 103rd minute as 12 minutes of added time were issued.
Mourinho was sent off for his complaints over a separate event as Madrid comfortably held onto their one goal lead.
Vinicius has been racially abused on multiple occasions during his time as a Real Madrid player, particularly in 2023, when the incidents included an effigy of him being hung on a bridge in the Spanish capital before a match against Atletico Madrid. His campaigns against such intolerance and hatred have won the 25-year-old widespread admiration in the footballing world and beyond, with the states of Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul implementing “Vinicius Junior laws” that will see sporting contests suspended over incidents of racist abuse.
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