MADRID (AP) — After being loudly booed, Vinícius Júnior danced again. This time in front of Real Madrid supporters while leading his team to the round of 16 of the Champions League, a week after accusing a Benfica opponent of racially insulting him.
Vinícius scored an 80th-minute goal to give Madrid a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 aggregate win over Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.
Vinícius celebrated by dancing by the corner flag just like in the first leg — then in front of Benfica fans — which ignited a confrontation with Benfica players and the accusation that Gianluca Prestianni called him “monkey.”
“That’s our Vinícius,” said Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who scored Madrid’s first goal in the 16th, a couple of minutes after Benfica had taken the lead through Rafa Silva.
Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinícius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not play on Wednesday even though the Argentine traveled to the Spanish capital. UEFA earlier Wednesday rejected Benfica’s last-minute appeal against the provisional suspension.
Last week’s match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee installed the anti-racism protocol following Vinícius’ complaint to him.
On Wednesday, Vinícius scored on a breakaway, calmly sending a low shot past the goalkeeper for his sixth goal in his last five matches for Madrid.
“I’m happy that Vini is dancing,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “Because if he’s dancing, it means that he is scoring.”
Loud boos
The more than 3,000 Benfica fans at the Bernabeu had jeered nearly every time Vinícius touched the ball early on. At one point, they celebrated when Vinicius lost control of the ball. The Benfica supporters also booed emphatically when the name of the Brazilian player was announced in the starting lineup ahead of the match.
The boos gradually lost force as the match went on and Madrid took control of the game.
Last week, a few Benfica fans were seen doing monkey gestures from the stands after the match at the Stadium of Light.
Vinícius also participated in the buildup of what would have been Madrid’s second goal in the first half but it was disallowed for offside.
Anti-racism banner
Before Wednesday’s match, Madrid fans displayed a banner saying “No To Racism.” A “respect” banner also was shown behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.
Madrid fans also jeered when Benfica central defender Nicolás Otamendi touched the ball. Otamendi, who is also Argentine, was one of the players that confronted Vinícius after the Brazilian’s celebration by the Benfica flag.
Also missing for Benfica was coach José Mourinho, the former Madrid coach who sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee. Mourinho did not participate in the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, and was expected to watch the match from the stands at the Bernabeu.
Nazi salute
Real Madrid said in a statement after the match it “urgently requested” the club’s disciplinary committee to open a procedure to expel a fan who was caught by television cameras performing a Nazi salute before the match.
Madrid said the supporter appeared to be part of its organized fan group behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.
“This member was identified by the club’s security staff moments after appearing on the broadcast and was immediately expelled from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium,” the club said. “Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society.”
Asencio injured
Madrid defender Raúl Asencio had to be carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for tests after a hard collision with teammate Eduardo Camavinga in the second half.
The central defender hit the ground hard and had to be attended for a few minutes on the field. The medical staff immobilized him before taking him off the field.
Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said Asencio apparently injured his neck but “it wasn’t serious.”
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
