Vinícius Júnior calls racist ‘cowards’ after Benfica defeat

Vinícius Júnior said “racists are above all cowards [who] need to put their shirts in their mouth to demonstrate how weak they are” after alleging abuse from Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in Lisbon. The Brazilian threatened to walk off amid the incident; coach Álvaro Arbeloa said the team would have joined him, though play resumed after a 10-minute delay.

Vinícius ran to referee François Letexier when Prestianni spoke to him after celebrating the only goal on 50 minutes; Prestianni covered his mouth as he spoke and Kylian Mbappé later backed the accusation that the word used had been “mono” or monkey. The referee made the gesture that confirmed the anti‑racism protocol was being activated, and following conversations between players, managers and officials the game continued.

vinícius júnior, racism, benfica, gianluca prestianni, real madrid, álvaro arbeloa, françois letexier, kylian mbappé, anti-racism, lisbon