Racism has no place in soccer; soccer is for everyone. There is no class divide in the beautiful game of soccer, a game that many individuals enjoy around the world, and it is not restricted in any way.
The ball can be made of anything, the field can be any size with no limitation and the rules can be understood universally.
What many fans and players often forget is that everyone is different, and there should be no reason to discriminate, whether through homophobia or racism.
The Champions League resumed on Feb. 17, and fans were eagerly awaiting this moment. In this stage of the tournament, the remaining teams that have escaped elimination will have a chance to advance to the round of 16.
During this phase, the teams that finished ninth to 24th in the group stage will have the opportunity to continue their run in the knockout round. Two teams will face each other in a two-leg match, and the winners will advance once all teams played both legs.
Real Madrid CF faced SL Benfica away at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, in this two-leg match. Many fans attended, as these two teams had already met in the Champions League group stage, where SL Benfica emerged victorious in an important match.
SL Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a header from a free kick set up by Fredrik Aursnes in the final minutes of the match, a goal that kept them in the tournament and gave them a chance to secure a spot in the round of 16.
In the second half, ViníciusJúnior received a pass from Kylian Mbappé and scored a stunning goal, shooting over the goalkeeper and into the top right corner to make it 1-0. After scoring the goal, Júnior. ran to the corner flag to celebrate.
However, this gesture did not go unnoticed as referee François Letexier issued a yellow card to the Real Madrid CF player for unsporting behavior.
With that booking, Júnior will be suspended from the next match in the Champions League. Shortly after the goal, Júnior was racially abused by SL Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.
According to Júnior, the SL Benfica player called him a “mono” in Spanish, which translates to “monkey.”
It is unclear if it is actually what the SL Benfica player said since he was covering his mouth with his shirt, making it difficult to hear clearly.
The match paused for 10 minutes while stadium staff tried to find footage of the SL Benfica player speaking or audio of the alleged incident.
After speaking with the referee and trying to get an answer to what would happen to the player, no action was taken against the SL Benfica player and the match resumed.
The game ended 1-0, with that being the result for the first leg.Many media outlets spoke out about how the situation was not treated seriously, especially toward the player and referee with the booking of Júnior’s celebration.
Days after the game, many commented that Júnior was to blame for his unprofessional celebration of that goal. UEFA will investigate this issue and issue a statement. As of now, there is no punishment for the SL Benfica player until further notice.
Prestianni denies any racist comment made to Júnior.“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Júnior, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” Prestianni said. “I was never a racist with anyone, and I regret the threats received from Real Madrid players.” Júnior labeled Prestianni as a “coward.” This fight will continue as they still have the second leg to play in Real Madrid’s home at San Bernabeu, Spain on Feb. 25.
