Vinicius Jr Alleges Racist Abuse By Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni

Real Madrid’s Champions League game against Benfica was halted for around 10 minutes in the second half after an incident of alleged racist abuse towards Vinicius Junior.

The incident occurred after the Madrid forward had opened the scoring in the 50th minute. Following his celebration and subsequent confrontation with Benfica players, Vinicius Jr ran over to referee Francois Letexier and appeared to point towards Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni.

Prestianni denied the allegations in an Instagram post after the game. “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” a statement on his account read. “I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players”.

The game finished 1-0 to the away side but was overshadowed by what happened following Vinicius Jr’s goal.

The 25-year-old’s Madrid team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold called the incident a “disgrace to football”, while Kylian Mbappe said “something has to be done” and “what happened today is more important than football” after he allegedly heard Prestianni “say that Vinicius is a monkey, five times”.

Benfica said in a social media post after the match, alongside an attached video of the alleged incident: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”

Other videos showed Prestianni had confronted Vinicius Jr more than once in the aftermath of his goal.

What happened?

Vinicius Jr celebrated in front of Benfica fans at the Estadio da Luz and was targeted by objects thrown from the Portuguese crowd.

The forward was booked by Letexier following his celebration and had exchanges with several Benfica players, including Prestianni, who had covered his mouth with his shirt. Other Madrid players were involved as the two sides clashed. During this period, Vinicius Jr ran back over to Letexier and appeared to point at Prestianni, with the French official then appearing to invoke FIFA’s ‘No Racism Gesture’ by crossing his arms in an X shape above his head.

The game resumed after a 10-minute delay, with Vinicius Jr then booed by the home fans when he touched the ball. Later in the half, Valverde also appeared to mimic a monkey gesture to Letexier, apparently indicating racial abuse.

Further objects were thrown towards Vinicius Jr and Alexander-Arnold from the same section of the crowd across multiple incidents in the final minutes of the game, causing more delays.

What is the ‘No Racism Gesture’?

FIFA’s guidance on racism during matches says: “Following its unanimous approval at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17 May 2024, a global crossed arms gesture to signal racist abuse is now part of football protocol at FIFA tournaments.

“The No Racism Gesture is designed to empower players, team officials and referees to take a stand against racism.

“By crossing their hands at the wrists, players can signal directly to the referee that they are being targeted by racist abuse, prompting the referee to start the three-step procedure.”

The 25-year-old, who has been repeatedly targeted for racial abuse in Spain for several years, was also abused before the match.
FIFA’s No Racism Gesture was used by referee Ramon Abatti during the Club World Cup match between Madrid and Mexican side Pachuca last summer. Antonio Rudiger alleged that Gustavo Cabral had abused him, which the Pachuca captain denied, and reported the incident to Abatti.

UEFA has its own racism reporting initiative that referees can implement. UEFA and FIFA have a three-step protocol for stopping matches after alleged incidents, which can end in matches being abandoned. The Athletic has contacted UEFA for comment.