Real Madrid’s victory over Benfica overshadowed by a stoppage of play with Vinicus Junior walking off the pitch following an incident of alleged racial abuse. After scoring a goal and celebrating during Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory, the match had to be delayed for 10 minutes after Vinicius sprinted over to referee Francois Letexier and was seen pointing at Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni.
The Benfica player covered his face with his shirt when he said something to Vinicius Junior, and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe said that the word used was “mono,” which is Spanish for monkey.
CBS Sports analyst Thierry Henry reflected on the scenario and opened up, saying he had gone through similar situations during his own storied career.
“People did fight, way before my time, for us to be able to perform and to entertain people. And to still be in 2026 dealing with the same thing, it’s tiring,” Henry said. “Obviously, I can relate, not only I can relate by the color of my skin, I can relate because I’ve been there. I’ve been lonely.”
“I really don’t know anymore … Don’t go there, don’t do this. They are booing him. There’s no way that if people understood what was happening on the field and that they’ve been told because they still were booing him.
“That happened to me. So at times you feel lonely because it’s going to be your word against his word. And so, because we don’t know what was said, because [Prestianni] was very courageous and put his shirt over his mouth to make sure we were not going to see what he said, so clearly, already, you look suspicious. Because you don’t want people to see or read what you said.
“Then you have the reaction of Vinicius telling me that something was not right … Vinicius can tell us his side, and Prestianni, I’m sure, will not tell us what was actually said. I saw him when Kylian Mbappe confronted him, and he said to Kylian, ‘I didn’t say anything.’ But he must’ve said something. What I go back to is that sometimes it’s lonely, you feel like you don’t know what to do anymore, because I’ve been in that situation, Vinicius has been in that situation. So many players have been in that situation.”
“Regardless of whatever happened, you don’t want to see anyone throwing a bottle at anyone anywhere. I can relate because at times you feel lonely, this is why I like the reaction of the Real Madrid players, as you would expect that when you see a teammate in this type of situation, you’re going to believe him straight away. Yes, Vinicius scored, but it’s not something that you want to see. I’ve been in this situation; it’s horrible. And not being able to prove it. He’s going to say no, obviously.”
When Prestianni was substituted from the match in the 81st minute of play, he was applauded by the Benfica supporters. Benfica’s manager Jose Mourinho claimed that Vini’s goal wasn’t celebrated in a respectful way, despite the Brazilian dancing in the corner, for which he was yellow carded for.
Henry asked the question that many are wondering in response.
“I answered by scoring goals, I answered by being cocky, I answered by being silent, I answered by fighting. So what, are we just here to entertain?”
UEFA guidelines
In UEFA competitions, there are official guidelines to halt a match if a referee becomes aware of racial behavior but the guidelines are geared to incidents coming from fans rather than from players on the pitch itself. Step one is for the game to be stopped with an announcement being made to cease any racist behavior. If it doesn’t cease after the game has been restarted, it will then be suspended with teams going to the dressing rooms before potentially being abandoned if issues continue after a second restart. After a match, the case is referred to UEFA’s disciplinary authorities.
This match was only stopped as the referee attempted to sort out what was said, but since there wasn’t clear proof of what happened, after things calmed down, the match restarted. Vinicius Junior released a statement on social media calling for more action.
“Racists are, above all, cowards,” the Brazilian said. “They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, in theory, have the obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new to me or my family. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like to be involved in situations like this, especially after a great victory and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Right back Trent Alexander-Arnold called the event “a disgrace to football,” following the match, while Mbappe encouraged Vinicius to keep dancing.
