Real Madrid’s Champions League game against Benfica was stopped for several minutes after a racist slur was allegedly directed at Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior by an opposition player.
The match in Lisbon, Portugal, was halted five minutes into the second half, shortly after Vinicius gave the away side a 1-0 lead in the first leg of the knockout playoffs.
Cameras picked up the 25-year-old player telling French referee Francois Letexier that he had been targeted.
The match was stopped for 11 minutes and Vinicius, who is black, went to the sidelines at the Estadio da Luz.
Both coaches, Benfica’s Jose Mourinho and Madrid’s Alvaro Arbeloa, talked to him at one point.
It appears Benfica players were not happy with the forward because he celebrated his goal by dancing in front of the corner flag, and some went to confront him.
Vinicius had been shown a yellow card after the celebration.
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After the complaint, Letexier responded by crossing his arms in front of his face, activating FIFA’s anti-racism protocol and stopping the match.
Real’s players threatened to leave the pitch as tensions rose, but the referee eventually allowed the match to resume.
Vinicius has repeatedly suffered racism in Spain during games.
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The match was eventually resumed with the first leg ending 1-nil. The teams are due to go to Madrid to play the second leg, but Sky News’ sports correspondent, Rob Harris, said there could be sanctions.
“There can be a ban for the player, if he’s found guilty of the racial abuse of Vinicius.
“Vinicius himself had warned about facing racism in the past, particularly in Spain… and had said that he would be prepared to walk off… if he faced abuse.
“Football often talks about sending out a message, and imposing those bans, to hopefully try to stamp out the scourge of racism. But how often are we still talking about this in football?”
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