02/17/26 05:56:00
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02/17 17:54 CST Madrid game at Benfica halted for several minutes as Vincius
says opponent racially insulted him
Madrid game at Benfica halted for several minutes as Vincius says opponent
racially insulted him
LISBON, Portugal (AP) --- Real Madrid forward Vincius Jnior accused an
opponent of racially insulting him during Tuesday's Champions League game
against Benfica, leading to the game being halted for nearly 10 minutes amid
angry scenes at the Stadium of Light.
Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold called the incident "a disgrace to
football" while Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said Vincius had incited his
players and fans by the way he celebrated his goal in the 1-0 win for Madrid.
Vincius had just curled in a shot into the top corner when French referee
Franois Letexier had to stop the match in the 52nd minute, making a signal
with his arms to show that an accusation of racism had been made.
Benfica fans had reacted angrily to Vincius celebrating his goal by dancing by
the corner flag, throwing bottles and other objects toward the Madrid players.
Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni then confronted Vincius and said something
while covering his mouth with his jersey.
The Brazil forward then suddenly pointed to his Argentine opponent and ran
toward the referee.
Cameras picked up Vincius telling Letexier that Prestianni called him "monkey."
After the match, Vincius posted a photo on Instagram of him celebrating by the
Benfica corner flag. He wrote: "Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to
cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. ... Nothing
that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family's life. I was
shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't know why."
When Vincius made his complaint, the referee immediately stopped the match and
crossed his arms above his head to start the anti-racism protocol. Vincius,
who is Black and has been repeatedly subjected to racist abuse in Spain, went
to the sideline and sat in the dugout while play was stopped. Some of his
teammates also started to walk toward the sideline.
Mbapp and midfielder Aurlien Tchouamni said the team considered leaving the
field but eventually decided to continue playing. Mbapp said he asked Vincius
to see what he wanted to do.
"What's happened tonight is a disgrace to football," Alexander-Arnold said
after the game. "It's overshadowed the performance, especially after such an
amazing goal. Vini has been subjected to this a few times throughout his
career, and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a
disgrace. There's no place for it in football or society. It's disgusting."
The 20-year-old Prestianni just looked on from afar as Vincius talked to the
referee.
"The players who were near said that (Prestianni) said something ugly, that
shouldn't be said," Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde said. "If you cover
your mouth to say something it's because you are saying something that is not
nice. I'm proud of my teammates who defended Vini and of Vini."
Benfica players said Prestianni told them that he provoked Vincius but never
used any racist insult.
"I asked him and he said it was a normal provocation between players during a
match," Benfica midfielder Leandro Barreiro said. "He said it was nothing
racist."
Both coaches, Benfica's Mourinho and Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa, talked to
Vincius near the benches.
Mourinho said he did not want to say he believed one player over the other
after talking to both, but criticized Vincius for celebrating near the fans.
"Unfortunately he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal," Mourinho
told Amazon Prime. "When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a
respectful way."
Mourinho said he told Vincius that the greatest player in Benfica's history
--- Eusbio --- was black, but seemed to question why the Real Madrid player is
so frequently targeted by racist abuse.
"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium," Mourinho said.
"The stadium where Vinicius played something happened. Always."
The referee appeared to show that he did not hear anything and gestured that
Prestianni had the shirt over his mouth.
The Argentine player was not shown a yellow card and continued playing. He was
substituted in the 81st and was applauded by Benfica fans.
The game restarted in the 60th and Vincius was jeered loudly by the home crowd
during the rest of the match.
He was hit by the bottle in the final minutes while near the sidelines in front
of Benfica fans. The referee asked for an announcement to be made through the
stadium's loudspeakers to warn fans not to through objects onto the field.
Mbapp, who was defending Vincius while Benfica players confronted his
teammate, was also jeered by Benfica supporters. Cameras also showed Mbapp
apparently telling Prestianni that he was a racist, along with expletives.
"We can't accept that a player who plays in Europe's top competition behaves
like that," Mbapp said. "He shouldn't keep playing in the competition. Let's
see what happens now."
The Brazilian soccer confederation showed solidarity with Vincius, saying in
an X post that he was "not alone" and that "racism is a crime" and has "no
place in soccer anywhere." It called Vincius' decision to complain to the
referee "an example of courage and dignity. We are proud of you."
Mourinho sent off
Mourinho, a former Madrid coach, was shown a red card in the 86th for
complaining to the referee.
He said the he referee was not awarding yellow cards to the Madrid players as
he should have, hinting that it was because they would miss the next game
because of an accumulation of cards.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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