Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr has reacted strongly to alleged racist abuse in the team’s UEFA Champions League tie against Benfica.
The Brazilian scored the winner to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Benfica in Portugal in the first of two legs in a Champions League playoff tie.
After celebrating his brilliant goal, Real Madrid and Benfica players clashed leading to an alleged racial insult hurled by Benfica’s Argentine player Gianluca Prestianni in the direction of Vinicius Jr.
Prestianni had his mouth covered with his jersey while making the alleged racial comments prompting Vinicius to complain to the referee who stopped the game for the incident to be officially reported for investigations to commence per UEFA rules.
The game was restarted leading to Real’s win and in a post-game presser, Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho pointed to Vinicius’ over the top celebration as an instigating factor in the row. (Click highlighted text to read full story)
On his part, Vinicius Jr delivered a strong worded statement on his Instagram page where he described the racist incident as nothing new in his life.
“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are but they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them.”
“Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.”
“I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
