Benfica coach Jose Mourinho said that Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior should have celebrated a goal against his team in a Champions League match in a dignified manner, adding that it is strange that incidents are happening in every stadium where the Brazilian plays.
Benfica lost 1-0 to Real Madrid at home last night, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 play-offs, with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal in the 50th minute.
Vinicius celebrated the goal by dancing at the corner flag in front of the Benfica fans, which they did not like, after which fierce shouts and whistles from the stands began.
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"It should have been the best moment of the game, he scored an incredible goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a dignified way. I told him: 'When you score a goal like that, just celebrate and go back,'" Mourinho told Amazon Prime after the game, adding that he believed the Brazilian provoked the fans.
Vinicius received a yellow card for celebrating a goal, and then complained to referee Francois Letexieu that Benfica player Gianluca Prestiani had allegedly racially abused him, causing the match to be abandoned.
The Brazilian footballer sat on the bench and did not want to continue the game, and after a 10-minute break, the match at the "Stadium of Light" resumed.
"When he was discussing racism, I told him that the greatest figure in the history of this club (Eusebio) was a black man. This club is anything but racist. Something is wrong because it happens in almost every stadium. In every stadium where Vinicius plays, something has happened. Always," Mourinho said.
He also stated that he spoke to both Vinicius and Prestiani and that they told him different things about the incident. "But I don't believe either one," he stressed.
The Benfica coach was sent off in the 85th minute for protesting, after asking the referee to show Vinicius a second yellow card for a foul.
The second leg between Real and Benfica is scheduled for next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
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