Benfica-Real Madrid, chaos in Lisbon amid accusations of racism and tensions on the sidelines

The night at the Da Luz turned into an international case. Benfica-Real Madrid, a match valid for the first leg of the Champions League playoffs, was interrupted for about ten minutes, shortly after the start of the second half, after Madrid player Vinicius Junior complained to referee Letexier about racist insults he had received from an opponent, specifically Argentina&#8217s Gianluca Prestianni. The incident generated chaos on the field, protests and tense moments, which led to the activation of the Uefa protocol against racism.

It all happened at 52′, shortly after the goal he scored, which turned out to be decisive for the final 1-0 in favor of the Merengues: Vinicius reported to the French referee that he had been insulted by Prestianni, clearly pointing to the Benfica player as the author of the offense. The match director then activated the anti-racism protocol by interrupting the match, with Vinicius going to sit on the bench and not at all willing to resume the game, while players from both teams became involved in a paraphernalia on the sidelines.

The situation returned to normal after ten minutes, with the’intervention of the two coaches, Jose Mourinho and Alvaro Arbeloa, proving decisive in creating the conditions for play to resume. After the confrontation between the referee, captains and coaches, the match then resumed normally, buta episode inevitably marked the evening, turning the Champions League match between the Lisbon Eagles and the Madrid Blancos into a case destined to have disciplinary aftermath.

Francesco Lucivero

Not enough was the tense atmosphere because of what happened at the beginning of the second half, the finale also proved red-hot: Mourinho himself, in fact, became the protagonist in the finale of vibrant protests against Lexetier, which led the French referee to draw, at’85’, two yellow cards in quick succession against the Portuguese coach.

The match then ended, a full fourteen minutes past the 90′, with Real Madrid winning 1-0: the team from the Spanish capital will play the return match at home, next Wednesday, knowing that they will also have a draw at their disposal to get through the round and enter the Champions League round of 16.