Vinicius Junior has voiced his opinion on the matter after he alleged that he was racially abused during Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Benfica in the UEFA Champions League play-off round.
The Brazilian netted the lone goal at the Estadio da Luz and later got involved in a scuffle with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. Vinicius informed the referee, Francois Letexier, of the incident, which led to a 10-minute delay as UEFA’s anti-racism protocol was put into operation.
In a press release, Madrid acknowledged the winger’s report, while Vinicius then slammed the situation’s handling on social media. “Racists are cowards, “ he tweeted, stating that the experience is quite familiar to him and regretting that the spotlight moved away from his team’s success.
The match was further marred when the forward was hit by an object thrown by the crowd during the final moments of the game.
This episode adds to the unfortunate series of events for Vinicius, who has already been a target of abuse by the followers of Atletico Madrid, Valencia, and Real Valladolid.
Madrid now has a narrow margin of advantage for the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
