Vinicius put Real Madrid ahead in the 50th minute at the Estadio da Luz stadium, and celebrated by dancing at the corner flagpole, before arguing back and forth with several Benfica players, including Gianluca Prestianni, whom Vinicius later accused of racism towards him.
Coach Mourinho, who also received a red card in the 85th minute and will be suspended in the second leg next week at the Bernabeu, spoke to both players on the field during the 10-minute game suspension after the referee activated UEFA's anti-racism procedure, before the match continued.
Vinicius said one thing, Prestianni said another. I don't want to say that I completely support Prestianni, but I also can't say that what Vinicius told me is true. I can't, I don't know.
All I knew was that until before scoring, it was a great match. Benfica started very well, and Real Madrid was extremely strong... Then Vinicius scored a goal that only he or Kylian Mbappé could do.
He should have been carried off the field by his teammates, not playing tricks in front of 60,000 people in this stadium. That's all I want to say," coach Jose Mourinho said.
Mourinho then seemed to imply that for the past few years Vinicius has been constantly discriminated against by fans, partly because of this striker's attitude in matches.
How many stadiums have this happened? He is an outstanding player, I love him very much. But when he scores a goal like this... he has to rely on his teammates. Something is wrong. Vinicius scored a great goal. Why didn't he celebrate like Eusebio, Pele or Di Stefano? ", Mourinho emphasized.
Meanwhile, coach Alvaro Aberloa emphasized that racism must be stopped immediately. He said: "Racism must be completely stopped. Such things cannot happen on the pitch in 2026... I asked if he wanted to continue playing. I told him that we always support him. We must always be by his side.
The referee told me that he didn't hear anything, and couldn't do anything in that situation. Whatever Vini said, we would stand on his side... This behavior is unforgivable.
With a 1-0 victory away from home, Real Madrid has a great advantage to advance in the UEFA Champions League play-off round, because the second leg they will play at home at the Bernabeu.
