It was a win for Real Madrid in their game against Benfica in the Champions League; however, the game was marred with allegations of racism, chaos and tempers everywhere.

The game was halted for 10 minutes during the second half when Vinicius Jnr scored a goal in the 50th minute and was quickly seen reporting an alleged racist abuse to the referee Francois Letexier.

According to reports, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni confronted him, covering his mouth with his jersey while speaking, and Vinicius insist that the player called him a monkey.

This was after Vini Jr celebrated in front of Benfica fans at the Estadio da Luz and was shown a yellow card, while appearing to be targeted by objects thrown from the Portuguese crowd while celebrating.

The forward then spoke to Letexier and had words with several Benfica players. Other Madrid players were involved as the two sides clashed. Vincius Jr’s Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappe also appeared upset during the stoppage. Madrid staff, including head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, spoke to both players.

During the stoppage, Vinicius Jr ran back over to Letexier, with the French official then appearing to invoke FIFA’s ‘No Racism Gesture’ by crossing his arms in an X shape above his head, which prompted the referee to engage the captains of both sides: Madrid’s Federico Valverde and Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi while Vinicius Jr went and sat back down on the Madrid bench.

The game resumed after a 10-minute delay, with Vinicius Jr then booed by the home fans when he touched the ball. Not very long after Later in the half, Valverde also appeared to mimic a monkey gesture to Letexier, apparently indicating racial abuse.

Vinicius Jr has been a subject in many cases of racial abuse over the years during his career, especially in Spain’s La Liga, and most recently in European competition.

During an El Clásico against Barcelona at Camp Nou in October 2021, he was subjected to racist chants. Barely 3 months after the incident, a similar abuse happened in Real Madrid’s match against Athletic Bilbao. Fast forward, another attack came from some Atlético Madrid fans in May 2022, who directed racist chants towards him outside the stadium during a derby. That September, in a game against Mallorca, monkey chants followed one of his goals.

It went into another year, 2023, when Valladolid fans targeted him during warm‑ups. The most infamous incident came on May 21, 2023, at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium, where sustained racist chanting led Vinícius to confront fans directly. This episode drew global outrage and even inspired Brazil to pass the “Vinícius Jr. Law” against racism in sports.

By mid‑2024, ESPN had counted 16 separate racist abuse incidents targeting him in Spain alone. The Valencia case remains the most high‑profile, but the Benfica incident shows the problem persists beyond Spain, underscoring the ongoing challenge of racism in football.

FIFA’s guidance on racism during matches says: “Following its unanimous approval at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17 May 2024, a global crossed arms gesture to signal racist abuse is now part of football protocol at FIFA tournaments. The No Racism Gesture is designed to empower players, team officials and referees to take a stand against racism.

“By crossing their hands at the wrists, players can signal directly to the referee that they are being targeted by racist abuse, prompting the referee to start the three-step procedure.”

UEFA has its own racism reporting initiative that referees can implement.

Both UEFA and FIFA have a three-step protocol for stopping matches after alleged incidents, which can end in matches being abandoned. The Athletic has contacted UEFA for comment.

Meanwhile, in May last year, FIFA announced that it had put forward a five-pillar plan aimed at addressing racist abuse in football.

The global governing body stated that it had engaged in an extensive consultation process with current and former players who are committed to instigating change.

One of the plan's key suggestions involves implementing a standard crossed-hands gesture for players to signal racist incidents during matches.

The first pillar of the proposal intends to make racism a specific offence which is included in all member associations’ disciplinary codes and has its own “specific and severe sanctions, including match forfeits”.

FIFA said it will “pause, suspend and abandon games in cases of racism”.

The crossed-hands gesture will be used by referees to signal an in-game procedure in which matches are paused twice, and warnings are given, with the game to then be abandoned in the event of further racism.

In pillar three – ‘criminal charges’ – Fifa called for racism to be recognised as a criminal offence in every country, and said it would push for severe sanctions in the countries where it is already an offence.

Fifa also said it would promote education initiatives with schools and governments to “provide a future free of racism”, while an anti-racism panel made up of former players will be set up to review the progress of the proposal.

Earlier that year, Brazil and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr said he felt “less and less” like playing football because he had suffered repeated racist abuse.

In 2023, a FIFA report found almost 20,000 abusive social media posts were aimed at players, coaches and officials during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.