Former football players and current stars have voiced their support for Vinicius Jr. following an alleged racist incident during Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Benfica.
Claims that Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica used racial taunts against the Brazilian, who scored the game’s lone goal in the first leg, dominated the aftermath.
Vinicius took to social media to speak out, writing, “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.”
Some of the biggest names in football were among those standing up for Vinicius, according to Planet Football on Thursday:
Prestianni repeatedly referred to Vinicius as a “monkey,” according to Kylian Mbappe, who denounced the actions as “unacceptable” and “terrible for world football.”
Vinicius’ mental toughness was commended by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who also mentioned that he had previously experienced abuse and “handled it excellently.”
Alvaro Arbeloa emphasized the value of helping players and combating racism in football.
Thierry Henry supported Vinicius’ testimony and talked about his own experience, emphasizing the isolation that players endure when they are singled out.
Wayne Rooney called the persistent racism in football “so sad,” rejecting criticism of Vinicius’ goal celebration.
José Mourinho’s remarks that appeared to condone such behavior were criticized by Clarence Seedorf, who stated that racial abuse should never be tolerated.
In agreement with Seedorf, Jamie Carragher emphasized that festivities should never incite racial animosity.
Players are expected to perform in spite of adverse conditions; therefore, Theo Walcott advocated for swift action against such situations.
Alan Shearer bemoaned the fact that the abuse was discussed more than Vinicius’ aptitude and objective.
Micah Richards responded to the alleged abuse by calling Prestianni a “coward.”
