During the Champions League playoff clash between Benfica and Real Madrid, the focus shifted away from football. The game was halted for over ten minutes after Real Madrid took a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute.
Here’s the context: Goal scorer Vinicius Junior, visibly upset, approached referee Francois Letexier. It seems that Vinicius reported a racist remark allegedly made by Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni, prompting the referee to invoke the racism protocol and stop the match.
Interestingly, while Prestianni spoke to the Real star, he covered his mouth with his jersey, leaving Letexier without sufficient evidence to penalize him. Nevertheless, this gesture strongly suggested that the Argentine player made offensive comments.
After the match, the Real Madrid team made serious allegations against their adversaries. Team captain Federico Valverde emphasized, “When someone covers their mouth while talking, it’s clear they’re trying to say something vile.” He condemned Prestianni’s comments as “pathetic” and noted that he used a term “that should never be spoken.”
Real Madrid’s coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, echoed these sentiments. “You should ask Prestianni what he said. This behavior is unacceptable, and we cannot tolerate it,” he expressed angrily.
In a more specific account, Kylian Mbappé spoke to ‘TNT Sports’ about the incident, stating: “The player wearing number 25, whose name I won’t mention out of respect, made unacceptable remarks, then covered his mouth with his jersey to avoid being caught on camera, repeatedly telling Vini that he was a monkey.”
Following the match, Vinicius, who faced constant booing and had cups thrown at him by the crowd after the interruption, quickly shifted his focus back to the game. He posted on Instagram, “Bernabeu, see you there!!!!!” indicating anticipation for the return match next Wednesday at Real Madrid’s iconic stadium.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.