The match between Real Madrid and Benfica in the Champions League was interrupted for several minutes after Vinícius Júnior accused an opponent of racially insulting him.
French referee François Letexier stopped the match in the 52nd minute, just after Vinícius had given Madrid a 1-0 lead that ended up being enough for victory.
Benfica players were not happy with Vinícius because he celebrated by dancing in front of the corner flag, and some went to confront him, including Gianluca Prestianni.
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Vinicius Junior speaks to the referee. Getty
Prestianni was complaining to Vinicius while covering his mouth with his jersey, and then the Brazil forward suddenly pointed to him and ran toward the referee.
Cameras picked up Vinícius telling Letexier that Prestianni called him “monkey.”
The referee stopped the match and Vinícius, who is black, went to the sideline.
Both coaches, Benfica’s José Mourinho and Madrid’s Álvaro Arbeloa, talked to Vinícius at one point while play was stopped.
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The referee appeared to show that he did not hear anything and gestured that Prestianni had the shirt over his mouth. Letexier pulled Prestianni aside and talked to him.
The Argentine player was not shown a yellow card and continued playing. Vinícius had been shown a yellow card after the celebration. The game restarted in the 60th.
Later in the match, Mourinho was sent off after a sideline outburst as his side struggled to equalise with the Spanish giants.
After the match, Vinícius posted a photo on Instagram of him celebrating by the Benfica corner flag with a clearly pointed message.
“Racists are, above all, cowards,” he wrote.
“They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. Nothing that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family’s life.
“I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t know why.”
When the complaint was first made, the referee immediately stopped the match and crossed his arms above his head to start the anti-racism protocol.
Vinícius, who has been repeatedly subjected to racist abuse in Spain, went to the sideline and sat in the dugout while play was stopped.
Mbappé and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni said the team considered leaving the field but eventually decided to continue playing.
Mbappé said he asked Vinícius to see what he wanted to do.
“What’s happened tonight is a disgrace to football,” Trent Alexander-Arnold said.
“It’s overshadowed the performance, especially after such an amazing goal. Vini has been subjected to this a few times throughout his career, and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a disgrace.
“There’s no place for it in football or society. It’s disgusting.”
Vinicius Junior is handed a yellow card. DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Mourinho said he did not want to say he believed one player over the other after talking to both, but criticised Vinícius for celebrating near the fans.
“Unfortunately he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal,” Mourinho told Amazon Prime. “When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
Mourinho said he told Vinícius that the greatest player in Benfica’s history — Eusébio — was black, but seemed to question why the Real Madrid player is so frequently targeted.
“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,” Mourinho said.
“The stadium where Vinicius played something happened. Always.”