Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off first leg against Benfica was held up for 10 minutes over a racist comment made towards winger Vinicius Jr.
The match was a closely fought and heated contest following the dramatic encounter between the sides during the league phase of the tournament before Vinicius sent the visitors into the lead with a stunning strike in the second half.
The Brazilian forward then celebrated excessively in front of the Benfica fans near the corner flag and earned himself a yellow card and was drawn into an altercation with opposition player Gianluca Prestianni.
Vinicius Jr then ran over to referee Francois Letexier and was incensed by the clash with Prestianni and gestured towards the 20-year-old Argentine.
His anger continued and he walked off the pitch heading to the Real Madrid dugout where he sat down and was followed by his Real Madrid teammates.
Benfica’s manager, Jose Mourinho, attempted to calm matters by talking to Real’s players including Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius himself.
The referee officially stopped play following what is believed to have been a report of a racist comment made towards Vinicius Jr but that is as of yet unconfirmed.
Uefa have a three-step racism protocol in place giving referees the power to halt matches and Letexier initiated step one. The match resumed 10 minutes later.
The three step protocol is:
- Firstly stop the game. They will then request an announcement to be made over the public address system asking spectators to immediately stop any racist behaviour.
- Then if it continues, stop the game for five to 10 minutes and take the players off the pitch while making another announcement.
- And if it resumes after the second restart, the referee can abandon the game.
A match will only be abandoned once the security of the players and public has been assessed. The case is then referred to Uefa’s disciplinary authorities.
More to follow….
