Trent Alexander-Arnold said the alleged racist abuse of team-mate Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s Champions League match at Benfica was a “disgrace to football”, while opposition manager Jose Mourinho was criticised for his comments on the incident.
The match was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni to referee Francois Letexier, and he and his team-mates temporarily left the field.
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The Brazil forward, who has been the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career, said “Racists are, above all, cowards” in a post on his Instagram.
Benfica manager Mourinho claimed Vinicius did not “celebrate in a respectful way” after his stunning goal in the 1-0 win preceded the incident at the Estadio da Luz.
The former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss said: “There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium.
“A stadium where Vinicius plays something happens, always.”
Reacting to Mourinho’s comments, former Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf said on Amazon Prime: “I think he is still emotional. I think he made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse.
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“He’s saying it’s OK, when Vinicius provokes you, to be racist – and I think that is very wrong.
“We should never, ever justify racial abuse. Vinicius has had enough of that unjustified behaviour from people. I know Mourinho by heart would agree with me but he expressed himself a bit unfortunately, I believe.”
England international Alexander-Arnold condemned the incident in his post-match interview.
“I think what has happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance, as well as an amazing goal,” said Alexander-Arnold.
“Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace.
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“There is no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting.”
What did Mourinho say?
Vinicius’ goal gave Real Madrid a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase play-off tie [Getty Images]
Mourinho was seen speaking with Vinicius after the 25-year-old took the decision to walk off the pitch following the interaction with Prestianni.
The Portuguese said in his post-match interview that he was told different things by Vinicius and Prestianni regarding the incident.
In addition to expressing his belief that Vinicius had been disrespectful with his celebration, he pointed to the club’s legendary striker Eusebio as proof that Benfica is not a racist club.
Asked if he felt Vinicius incited the crowd, Mourinho said: “Yes. I believe so.
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“It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
He added: “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.
“They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.”
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Speaking after watching Mourinho’s interview, former England international Theo Walcott said on Amazon Prime: “I am quite calm and composed and I am not someone who gets angry often.
“I love everything Jose Mourinho has done in football but I think he has made a poor decision in that sense. It was maybe the one time we shouldn’t have heard from him, the one night he should not have been in front of the cameras.”
What happens next?
Vinicius’ Real Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappe called for Argentina winger Prestianni to no longer be allowed to play in the Champions League following the alleged incident.
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“Nothing like this has ever happened to me, and in these kinds of important matters, it’s important to speak very clearly and not to speak in generalities,” France forward Mbappe said.
“I have the utmost respect for Benfica and their coach, who is one of the best in history and who made history with Real Madrid. But, in my opinion, this player doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.
“We cannot accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like this. This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore, but we’ll see what happens.
“Let’s leave it to Uefa, who always try to do something. Now they have a serious case, and I hope they do something.”
Vinicius alerted referee Francois Letexier to alleged racist abuse by Gianluca Prestianni early in the second half [Getty Images]
With the two clubs set to meet for the second leg in Madrid next Wednesday, Walcott called for urgent action by Uefa.
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“It’s something that cannot be done in months and months, it needs to be dealt with immediately,” Walcott said.
Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, speaking on CBS, reflected on his own experiences of racist abuse during his playing career.
“I can relate to what Vinicius Junior is going through. That happened to me so many times on the field. At times you feel lonely because it’s going to be your word against his word, because we don’t know what he has said,” Henry said.
“He put his shirt over his mouth. Clearly, already, he looks suspicious because he didn’t want people to see what he said.
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“Let’s see how big of a man Prestianni is – tell us what you said.”
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