Brazilian accuses referee of ‘poorly executed protocol’
Real Madrid eventually play on after 10-minute delay
Vinícius Júnior declared that “racists are above all cowards [who] need to put their shirts in their mouth to demonstrate how weak they are” and attacked the failure of the referee to act after he was allegedly abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in Lisbon. The Brazilian was seemingly minded to walk off and the Madrid coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, said that they would have joined him, although they did eventually play on after a 10-minute delay. Kylian Mbappé said afterwards that Prestianni should not be allowed to play in the Champions league again.
Vinícius had run to the referee, François Letexier, when Prestianni said something to him after celebrating the only goal of the night on 50 minutes. Prestianni covered his mouth as he spoke but Mbappé later backed the Brazilian’s accusation that the word used had been “mono” or monkey. The referee performed the gesture that confirmed that he was activating the anti-racism protocol and the game but following conversations between players, managers and officials the two teams did eventually play on.
“Racists are above all cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have by their side the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish,” Vinícius wrote in a post on social media. He lamented what he called “a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose” and added: “I don’t like appearing in situations like this, especially after a great victory when the headlines should to be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
