Real Madrid tie halted over Vinicius racism allegation

Real Madrid’s Champions League knockout phase play-off tie at Benfica was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius Junior reported alleged racist abuse and he and his team-mates left the field.

Referee Francois Letexier made the crossed arms gesture to signal racist abuse following a conversation with Vinicius.

The Brazilian forward had put the Spanish visitors 1-0 up in the second half at the Estadio da Luz, before being booked for an excessive celebration.

Following an interaction with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to referee Letexier while gesturing towards the opposition player.

He then walked off the pitch and was followed by his Real Madrid team-mates, but play restarted 10 minutes later, in the 60th minute.

The match was played out to its conclusion, with Real winning 1-0 after 12 minutes of stoppage time, during which an object thrown from the crowd struck Vinicius on the arm.

Team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident was a «disgrace to football» when speaking to Amazon Prime after the match.

«It’s a difficult situation. Hopefully there’s justice. There is no place for it in football or society.»

The crossed-arms gesture to signal racist abuse was introduced by Fifa in May 2024.

It is made by an on-field referee if they observe or receive a report of abuse.

Uefa established a three-step racism protocol to handle incidents of discrimination inside stadiums in 2009 – the first being to stop the game.

Objects were seen being thrown from the crowd as Vinicius, 25, danced by the corner flag after scoring a stunning goal in the 50th minute.

That sparked a disagreement between the players on the pitch, following which Vinicius and Prestianni were seen interacting on the halfway line.

The Real star led his team-mates off the pitch after reporting the incident and spoke with Benfica manager Jose Mourinho as staff members from both sides became involved.

Vinicius has been the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career.

Five people were handed suspended prison sentences for racially abusing him last year – the first time that a conviction for racism at a football match in Spain has been handed out.