Real Madrid Win 1–0 at Benfica in Match Halted by Racism Allegation

Overview

• Vinícius Júnior decided the first leg with a long-range strike early in the second half, moving to 31 Champions League goals and passing Kaká among Brazilian scorers.
• Referee François Letexier signaled the anti-racism protocol and stopped the game for about ten minutes after Vinícius accused Prestianni of calling him a racial slur.
• No in-game sanction was issued to Prestianni during the stoppage, while Vinícius received a yellow card for his celebration near Benfica supporters.
• José Mourinho was sent off late for protesting and later criticized Vinícius’s celebration while noting conflicting accounts of the incident.
• Kylian Mbappé and Real teammates publicly backed Vinícius and urged severe punishment, and coach Álvaro Arbeloa said the team would have left the field if Vinícius had chosen to do so ahead of next week’s return leg at the Bernabéu, where a draw would advance Real.