Vinicius Junior takes aim at racist cowards' after Benfica's defeat by Real Madrid

"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, Vinicius 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."

"Vinicius had run to the referee, Francois 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 Mbappe 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."

"[Prestianni] called Vinicius a monkey five times, I saw it, Mbappe said. I cannot let things like this go. He's a young player, how can you say things like that on a football pitch? We were going to go, that was the team's decision. I don't know what happened and then we came back. This type of person is no colleague, he shouldn't play the Champions League again."

Vinicius Junior accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of directing racist insults at him after Real Madrid's only goal in Lisbon, running to referee Francois Letexier in protest. Prestianni covered his mouth as he spoke, and Kylian Mbappé supported Vinicius's claim that the word used was 'mono' or 'monkey'. The referee indicated activation of the anti-racism protocol, but players and coaches described the protocol as poorly executed and ineffective, prompting a threatened walk-off and a ten-minute delay before play resumed. Arbeloa said the team had intended to leave. Mbappé called for Prestianni to be banned from Champions League matches.

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