sportbible homepage
sportbible homepage
  • Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Manchester United
    • Liverpool
    • Arsenal
    • Real Madrid
    • Barcelona
  • Formula 1
    • Red Bull
    • Ferrari
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes
    • Max Verstappen
    • Lewis Hamilton
    • Lando Norris
    • George Russell
    • Charles Leclerc
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • More Sport
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • Darts
    • Athletics
    • Rugby
    • Wrestling
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
Threads
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • LADbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Benfica vs Real Madrid match suspended as chaos ensues following Vini Jr incident

Home> Football> Football News> Champions League

Updated 22:07 17 Feb 2026 GMTPublished 21:25 17 Feb 2026 GMT

Benfica vs Real Madrid match suspended as chaos ensues following Vini Jr incident

The match was immediately called off after Vinicius Jr reported he had been subject to racial abuse.

Ben McCrum

Ben McCrum

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

The Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica has been suspended after Vinicius Jr was allegedly racial abused by a opposition player.

On Tuesday night, Real Madrid travelled to Lisbon to face Jose Mourinho's Benfica in a Champions League play-off clash.

After a hard-fought first half, Benfica managed to keep the score at 0-0 at half-time, after Real Madrid dominated the match.

Not long into the second half, Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr scored a beautiful goal to open the scoring and put the visitors ahead.

Advert

However, the moment was quickly overshadowed as a Benfica player allegedly made a racist comment towards the Brazilian, forcing the match to be suspended for 10 minutes.

Joao Bravo/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images
Joao Bravo/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images

Just minutes into the second half, Vinicius Junior found the back of the net and immediately ran to the corner flag to celebrate beside the opposition fans, antagonising supporters.

Moments later, just as the match was about to kick off once again, the Real Madrid goalscorer was seen sprinting over to the referee to report that he had been racially abused by an opposition player.

The match was immediately suspended as the protocol for a racial comment had to be followed, but that didn't stop swarms of players and staff from both teams swarming onto the pitch in anger, leading to one member of the Benfica coaching staff being shown a red card.

Meanwhile Mourinho was quick to approach Vinicius and other members of the Real Madrid staff to speak to them about the moment.

Reacting to the moment live on Amazon Prime, Alan Shearer said: "It's such a shame, isn't it? We should be talking about an excellent piece of skill and how he produced a piece of magic which this game needed."

Meanwhile Mark Clattenberg added: "As a referee, I have had this situation before when players have reported a racial comment on the field of play. All he can do is make the report. Afterwards, then Uefa will look into this. As a referee it is very difficult in this situation."

Jose Mourinho spoke with Vinicus Jr following the incident. (Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho spoke with Vinicus Jr following the incident. (Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

As it stands, it is not yet known what exactly was said to Vinicius Jr, or who said it to him, but Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni was seen covering his mouth with his shirt as he approached Vinicius moments before the report was made.

Following the 10 minute interruption, Vinicius returned to the pitch and the match resumed with the score remaining 1-0 to Real Madrid.

Featured Image Credit: Amazon prime

Topics: Champions League, Real Madrid, Benfica, Vinicius Jr, Racism, Football

Ben McCrum
Ben McCrum

Ben is a sports journalist who specialises in football, Formula One and MMA. He has written for publications such as Manchester Evening News, WiganToday, Manchester World and beIN Sports. Throughout his career, he has interviewed top athletes including Gareth Southgate, Luke Littler, Tom Aspinall and Jenson Button.

X

@benmcc14

Recommended reads

David Munyua and Peter Wachiuri interview: 'We wish for major PDC players to come and visit Kenya'Getty / Instagram/@wachiuridartsMark Selby lifts lid on backstage talks over Crucible as landmark agreement reachedGettyBarry Hearn sends message to Ronnie O'Sullivan over snooker future as Crucible prediction madeGettyTyson Fury explains why his 14-year-old son Prince has “no choice” but to become a boxerGetty

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
10 hours ago
12 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • Getty
    7 hours ago

    Birmingham slammed for new tifo featuring Jude Bellingham

    The tifo was unveiled before their home game against Blackburn Rovers on Friday.

    Football
  • Getty
    10 hours ago

    QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the FA Cup since 1975?

    The FA Cup began back in 1872 and there is long list of teams who have won the England's oldest cup competition.

    Football
  • Getty
    12 hours ago

    Liverpool 'transfer list four players' in brutal squad cull

    Arne Slot may look to refresh his squad this summer.

    Football
  • Getty
    13 hours ago

    James Rodriguez rushed to hospital as Colombia issue statement

    Rodriguez is currently at Minnesota United, having previously represented Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Everton among other clubs.

    Football
  • Gianluca Prestianni takes immediate action following incident with Vini Jr
  • Vini Jr offered transfer route out of Real Madrid amid Benfica racism row
  • Tunnel footage from Benfica vs Real Madrid emerges after claims of fight
  • Real Madrid player could face UEFA sanction for unseen moment in Benfica chaos