A pivotal Champions League knockout phase play-off between Benfica and Real Madrid was dramatically interrupted for ten minutes following allegations of racist abuse directed at Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior. The incident occurred at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz after the 25-year-old had broken the deadlock with a spectacular 50th-minute goal.
Referee Francois Letexier initiated FIFA’s official crossed-arms gesture to signal recognition of racist abuse after consulting with Vinicius, who reported being targeted by Benfica’s Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni. In a powerful display of solidarity, Vinicius was followed off the pitch by his entire Real Madrid squad, halting play in the 60th minute.
The match eventually resumed and concluded with Real Madrid securing a 1-0 victory after twelve minutes of stoppage time, during which Vinicius was struck on the arm by an object thrown from the crowd.
Post-match, Vinicius issued a strongly-worded statement on Instagram, declaring: ‘Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.’
Prestianni denied the allegations, stating: ‘I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.’
This incident marks the latest in a distressing pattern of racist abuse targeting Vinicius throughout his career. In May 2025, five individuals received suspended prison sentences for racially abusing him during a match against Real Valladolid—the first conviction of its kind in Spanish football history.
UEFA’s three-step racism protocol, established in 2009, provides officials with procedures to address discriminatory behavior, including match suspensions and potential abandonment if abuse persists. The cross-arms gesture employed by Letexier was introduced by FIFA in May 2024 as a standardized signal for identifying racist incidents.