Real Madrid’s winger, Vinicius Junior, has posted a strong message on Instagram about the racial abuse he faced from Benfica’s winger, Gianluca Prestianni, during their Champions League playoff match at Benfica on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid won the match 1-0, thanks to a single play by Vinicius Junior early in the second half.
During the game, Vinicius ran to the referee, Francois Letexier, to report what he thought was a racist incident after having an argument with Prestianni.
After the Brazilian scored his fantastic goal, he danced right in front of Benfica’s home fans near the corner flag, which made Jose Mourinho’s team very upset.
Referee Letexier showed a yellow card to Vinicius because of the part he played in annoying Benfica’s fans.
Many of those fans threw missiles at the 25-year-old forward as a response.
There was a nine-minute delay because both teams were fighting on the field.
Vinicius told the officials that Benfica’s winger, Prestianni, had said something during the confusion.
After briefly speaking with the Madrid player, the referee raised his arms to make a cross shape. This sign is made to show that a player has faced racist comments during a UEFA match.
Replays of the incident showed Prestianni lifting his shirt to cover his mouth and then appearing to say something to Vinicius Junior.
It is not clear exactly what Prestianni said, but Spanish reports say that Vinicius Junior accused the Argentina player of calling him a ‘monkey’.
After the game, the Brazilian winger went on Instagram and wrote, “Racists are, above all, cowards.
“They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they are protected by others who, in theory, are supposed to punish them.
“Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life. I got a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why.
“On the other hand, it was simply a badly done plan that didn’t achieve anything. I don’t like being in situations like this, especially after a big win when the news should be about Real Madrid, but it’s something I have to do.”
