Benfica and its coach, José Mourinho, became the target of criticism for their reaction to the accusation of racism made by Brazilian Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, against Argentine Giangluca Prestianni, from the Portuguese team. The club, on its official channels, and the coach, in his post-match interview, sided with Prestianni in the episode.
Vinicius said he was called “mono”, “monkey” in Spanish, by his opponent shortly after scoring the winning goal in Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory, on Tuesday (17), at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon. The duel, the first leg of the knockout stage that counts for a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League, was interrupted by French referee François Letexier.
Mourinho suggested that the striker’s celebration, a dance with his face close to the Benfica flag planted in the corner, had provoked the negative reactions. “When you score a goal like that, it won’t touch the hearts of the opposing stadium,” said the coach. Benfica published that, “given the distance, the Real Madrid players cannot have heard what they are saying they heard”.
“José Mourinho attacks Vinicius Junior’s character to discredit him. For me, in terms of leadership, it’s a big mistake, it’s something we shouldn’t accept,” said Bayern Munich coach, Belgian Vincent Kompany, who also repudiated the mention of Eusébio, a black man born in Mozambique who is the greatest idol in Benfica’s history.
“He mentions the name of Eusébio, the biggest idol in the club’s history, to say that Benfica is not racist. He doesn’t know what black players had to suffer in the 1960s. Many years later, I also suffered racism in my career”, added Kompany, who was captain of the Belgian national team and Manchester City in the last decade.
The criticism was repeated by other former players, such as Frenchman Lilian Thuram, and Brazilian Luisão, who is one of Benfica’s great names this century. The São Paulo native, who was captain of the Lisbon team, made a series of publications on social media regretting the behavior adopted on the red team’s official channels.
“I was also the target of insults, including racist ones, after speaking out,” wrote Luisão. “It hurts, but it won’t make me back down. I may have ignored sporting provocations throughout my career, but I will never remain silent in the face of discrimination from a minority that doesn’t represent the club I love.”
A press conference by Mourinho was scheduled for this Friday (20), but it was cancelled. Instead of holding a meeting with journalists, Benfica published statements from the coach on its website about the team’s current situation and upcoming games. Prestianni’s name is only mentioned to point out that he will be absent, due to suspension, from the match against AVS, in the Portuguese Championship.
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), organizer of the Champions League, opened an investigation into the case, but has not yet presented any conclusion. The second leg of the duel between Real Madrid and Benfica is scheduled for next Wednesday (25), at the Bernabéu, in Madrid.
Until the day of the next meeting arrives, images are circulating on social media of fans of the Lisbon club making monkey gestures during last Tuesday’s clash. Under pressure, the red board announced this Friday that it will carry out an investigation and dismiss the members who participated in racist demonstrations after Vinicius’ goal.
“Saying that Vinicius Junior’s behavior, when dancing with the Benfica flag, provoked a racist offense is the same as saying that a girl who wears a miniskirt deserves to be raped,” said lawyer André Megale, a specialist in sports law.
Megale was compliance director at CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) from 2017 to 2021, a time when he implemented the entity’s code of ethics. He believes that the most efficient anti-racist policies are those implemented within the clubs themselves.
“Entities such as the CBF and UEFA can and should provide general compliance guidelines, but it is the clubs that maintain a close relationship with the fans. They are also responsible for educating the players”, he stated.
Benfica’s website does not have a specific document on the topic, but the club has created specific initiatives in the past, such as the event “Show racism the red card”, a day of educational activities in 2020. The event was promoted by the Benfica Foundation, whose president, Carlos Moia, was contacted by the report. The entity’s communications team responded that he could not give an interview because he was “absent from the country”.
For Luisão, the situation at Estádio da Luz offers Benfica a chance.
“May we come out of this episode better. As a club, as fans, as a society. Football is passion, it is intensity. But, above all, it is humanity. And humanity does not tolerate racism.”
