Vinicius Junior scored a glorious winner as Real Madrid defeated Benfica 1-0 in a bad-tempered first leg of their Champions League play-off tie at the Estadio da Luz. Tuesday’s match was overshadowed by chaotic scenes as the action was paused for 10 minutes in the immediate aftermath of Vinicius’ 50th-minute strike. The Brazilian appeared outraged […]
Benfica still insist they’re defending their player, and that they are not a club that would stand for racism or discrimination of any kind.
Still, at this point the Portuguese giants seem to just be digging themselves a deeper hole when they surely just need to apologise and take the appropriate action.
Vinicius Junior in action for Real Madrid (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
Benfica statement on Gianluca Prestianni
Benfica’s latest statement, as per BBC Sport, reads as follows:
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica views with a spirit of complete collaboration, transparency, openness and a sense of clarity the steps announced today by UEFA, following the alleged case of racism that occurred in the game against Real Madrid.
“The Club reaffirms, clearly and unequivocally, its historical and unwavering commitment to defending the values of equality, respect, and inclusion, which align with the core values of its foundation and which have Eusébio as their greatest symbol.
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica reiterates that it fully supports and believes in the version presented by the player Gianluca Prestianni, whose conduct while serving the Club has always been guided by respect for opponents, institutions, and the principles that define Benfica’s identity. The Club regrets the defamation campaign to which the player has been subjected.”
Pundits continue to criticise Jose Mourinho
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has received a lot of negative press for the way he personally has handled the situation.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss very clearly looked to shift the blame onto Vinicius himself, as he criticised the player’s celebration for being provocative.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has slammed Mourinho for being a hypocrite as he’s so often been someone who likes to wind up opposition fans himself, while former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara slammed Mourinho’s comments as “disgusting” on Sky Sports.
"I think it's disgusting what Jose Mourinho has come out and said"
Jamie O'Hara criticises the Benfica manager for suggesting Vinicius Jr provoked a reaction from Benfica fans and players before reporting alleged racist abuse. pic.twitter.com/UQBwcWw1WX
“It’s disgusting what Jose Mourinho has come out and said. The comments are disgraceful, they really are. He’s had a go at him for celebrating a goal, he scored a fantastic goal we should all be talking about,” O’Hara said.
“His celebration is absolutely fine, he enjoys his moment. He gets booked by the referee for celebrating, which in my opinion is disgraceful as well and then he gets abused.
“He then has to go to the referee and say I’ve been abused, for Jose Mourinho to come out and almost say he brings it upon himself I think it’s outrageous, and totally unfair.
“You can’t say he brings it upon himself because he’s the one getting targeted. I think Mourinho will regret his comments, I think he’s made a massive mistake and bang out of order to question Vinicius Junior.”
? NEW footage appears to show Kylian Mbappe also had a missile thrown at him by Benfica fans!
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has released a statement on Instagram after alleging that he was the victim of racist abuse from Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni last night.
Vinicius scored a superb winning goal for Real as they won 1-0 away to Benfica, but the game was marred by an alleged incident that led to the Brazil international leaving the field in protest.
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho was also sent off in a dramatic game in this Champions League play-off tie, with the Portuguese tactician also heavily criticised for his response to the whole incident.
This is not the kind of thing we want to see in football, and Mourinho rather shockingly suggested that Vinicius may have been partly to blame.
What happened with Vinicius Junior and Gianluca Prestianni?
Vinicius approached referee Francois Letexier to report racist abuse from Prestianni, with his teammate Kylian Mbappe later quoted by Football Espana as saying that the Benfica player had called him a “monkey” five times.
Real Madrid’s tie with Benfica was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius Júnior reported alleged racist abuse pic.twitter.com/yHJfwved0e
Vinicius and his teammates left the pitch for ten minutes, though play later restarted and the match was eventually completed.
Posting on Instagram after the game, as quoted by BBC Sport, Vinicius said: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are,” said Vinicius.
“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.”
Jose Mourinho criticised for response to Vinicius Junior incident
Jose Mourinho is sent off for Benfica against Real Madrid (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Mourinho has been heavily criticised for his comments afterwards, as he suggested this is more of a problem with Vinicius himself than anything else.
As quoted by BBC Sport, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager said: “There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. A stadium where Vinicius plays something happens, always.”
Needless to say, this did not go down well, with the report also quoting former Real Madrid star Clarence Seedorf as saying: “I think he (Mourinho) is still emotional. I think he made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse.
“He’s saying it’s OK, when Vinicius provokes you, to be racist – and I think that is very wrong.
“We should never, ever justify racial abuse. Vinicius has had enough of that unjustified behaviour from people. I know Mourinho by heart would agree with me but he expressed himself a bit unfortunately, I believe.”
"People did fight, way before my time, for us to be able to perform… and to be in 2026 talking about the same thing, it's tiring.
Trent Alexander-Arnold slams “disgusting” treatment of Vinicius Junior
Former Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined Real Madrid last summer, did not hold back with his views after the game.
The England international was clearly unhappy, saying: “I think what has happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance, as well as an amazing goal.
“Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace.
“There is no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting.”
Benfica digging themselves an even deeper hole
Someone at Benfica surely needs to advise their players and manager a bit better, with an apology needed rather than what looks like some embarrassing doubling down.
Benfica forward Vangelis Pavlidis has defended Prestianni, suggesting either that Vinicius made it up or just majorly misunderstood.
“I don’t think Prestianni said anything like that to Vinicius. I think it has more to do with the heated rivalry between Brazil and Argentina than anything else,” he said.
Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica speaks towards Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, further comments from Mourinho defended the club’s reputation, insisting they cannot be racist due to their love for former player Eusebio.
“It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” he said.
He added: “I told (Vinicius), when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club (Eusebio) was black. This club, the last thing that it is, is racist.”
Kylian Mbappe calls for Gianluca Prestianni to be banned
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe joined in the criticism of Prestianni, and called for him to be banned from playing in the Champions League.
“I have the utmost respect for Benfica and their coach, who is one of the best in history and who made history with Real Madrid. But, in my opinion, this player doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” Mbappe said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“We cannot accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like this. This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore, but we’ll see what happens.
“Let’s leave it to Uefa, who always try to do something. Now they have a serious case, and I hope they do something.”
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