LISBON, Portugal A knockout play-off game in the UEFA Champions League between Real Madrid C.F. and S.L. Benfica was dramatically interrupted on Tuesday evening when a player in the Real Madrid team, Vinicius Junior, claimed that he was being racially abused in the second half, which prompted the implementation of the UEFA anti-racism policy and led to the ensuing halt of the proceedings at the Estadio da Luz.
This event occurred soon after Vinicius had put Real Madrid ahead 1-0 with a beautiful curling shot at the beginning of the second half. As a result of his celebration in front of the Benfica fans, the Brazilian received a yellow card during the celebration, a move that appeared to trigger off tensions in the field.
Racism Protocol Activated
A few seconds after scoring, Vinicius heated with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, who seemed to be speaking with his mouth covered by his shirt as he talked to the Real Madrid forward. Then, in one of those actions, Vinicius proceeded to rush to the referee Francois Letexier, who crossed his arms, and this was the only sign that the anti-racism policy of the UEFA had been implemented. The referee thereafter stopped the game and kept it stagnant about 10 minutes.
In this protocol, the matches may be suspended when the racist behavior is suspected and the officials have time to evaluate the circumstances and give warnings accordingly. The process is aimed at addressing discriminatory actions on the field or by the fellow players and fans.
In the break, both sides employed players and coaching staff to settle down tensions. Among those who were actually in the line of discussions when the delay was happening were the Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa and Benfica coach Jose Mourinho.
Same Resumes, but Scandal Strikes a Chord.
Although this was interrupted and the allegation was serious, the match resumes and Real Madrid continued with their 1-0 lead and proceeded to win the match. Nevertheless, the game was still tense during the rest of the game, and Vinicius was being booed by the fans in the stadium and objects were reportedly thrown afterward in the course of the game.
The match was soon eclipsed by the episode, which otherwise held a high stake European tie. The controversy remained the subject of focus, with both very critical and defensive utterances filling the social media and the press even after full-time.
Reactions of the players and their teammates.
Vinicius received support in the aftermath of the match in the form of fellow Real Madrid players. Midfielder Federico Valverde clarified that players around heard something very nasty and this points out the gravity of the accusation. It is a shame that so many cameras were there that it was not filmed… Valverde was proud of Vinicius.
One of the players who made a very vocal statement about the abuse was French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who described the behavior as unacceptable and stated that the team would continue to move forward.
Star forward Kylian Mbappe, one of the main stars of Real, contributed his considerable share to the post-meeting, stating that the person who did it must be punished severely and that racism in the modern game is a serious matter.
Denials and Defenses
Before this, the manager of Benfica Mourinho put forward an apologetic stance of the event claiming that the celebration of Vinicius could have caused the crowd to become violent and he negated claims that the club is racist by citing the historic links between Benfica and its former Black star Eusebio. Mourinho insisted that he wanted to remain impartial on the details, pointing out that there had been different methods of the incidence communicated to him.
The statements of Mourinho were a controversial point of discussion again and critics claimed that racism must be condemned unconditionally, whereas other people forced to provide certain arguments before making decisions. In any case, the remarks of the manager only served to highlight the controversial nature of the situation that followed the match even when the match was long over.
Vinicius’s Own Words
After the match, Vinicius himself went to social media to be angry and call racists cowards and blame the anti-racism procedure as not good enough. He affirmed that he was confused by being punished on a yellow card as he celebrated his goal but the alleged racist behavior was not punished at the moment which underscored his unhappiness with the manner in which the case was handled.
His words became popular among fans and anti-racism activists, where a large number of people praised his position and demanded more significant protection and enforcement measures in the sport.
General Background and References.
Vinicius has experienced racial abuse incidences in European football in the past, and this recent episode has given a new impetus to the fight against the discrimination in the sport. Supporters have presented the argument that even the highest tier of football does not have effective measures against racist behavior on and off the field and that the regulatory bodies such as UEFA need to take more decisive action in favor of the players.
The anti-racism protocol provided by Uefa more than ten years ago was aimed to grant power to the referees to stop the game and give warnings or abandon the matches when discriminatory behaviour is observed, however, it has been argued that it has not been working properly.
What Happens Next
As this story still develops, there is a high chance that UEFA is looking closely at the issue. The disciplinary action might entail investigating the claims that Prestianni supposedly made, possible penalties to the participants, and assessing whether the anti-racism policy was working as planned. Whichever is the case ahead, the event at the Estadio da Luz might be a breaking point of football in its continuous fight against institutional racism and safeguard the players against abuse.