Striker Vinícius Júnior denounced having been a victim of racism in the victory of his club, Real Madrid, from Spain, over Benfica, from Portugal, 1-0, in the knockout stage of the European Champions League. The episode occurred shortly after the Brazilian scored a great goal at Estádio da Luz, opening the scoring in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital.
Four minutes into the second half, Vini Jr received the ball from striker Kylian Mbappé on the left and hit the ball from the edge of the area. The ball arced and hit goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s corner. Real Madrid’s number 7 celebrated by dancing in front of the corner flag, close to Benfica fans.
The Portuguese team’s players went to express satisfaction with Vini Jr, who received a yellow card from referee François Letexier. When the confusion seemed to be over, the Brazilian went to the judge complaining that he had been called “mono”, the Spanish term for monkey. He had just argued with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. The images from the TV broadcast showed that, at one point, the Argentine striker put his shirt towards his mouth.
After Vini Jr’s complaint, the referee raised his arms in the shape of an “X”, activating the anti-racism protocol and interrupting the game. The stoppage lasted around ten minutes and Real Madrid players considered leaving the pitch, but there was no punishment and the duel was resumed. The Brazilian started to be booed by the Benfica fans every time he touched the ball.
The goal scored this Tuesday isolated Vini Jr as the second Brazilian player who scored the most goals in the Champions League. He reached 31 goals, surpassing former midfielder Kaká, who played for Real Madrid and Milan, in Italy. The leader of the statistics is striker Neymar, who scored 42 goals for Barcelona, from Spain, and Paris Saint-Germain, from France.
With the 1-0 victory, Real Madrid have the advantage of a draw in the second leg of the match, which gives them a place in the round of 16. The teams will meet again on Wednesday of next week (25), at 5pm (Brasília time), at the Santiago Bernabeu, in Madrid, the Spanish capital.
