Another Champions League away day. Another goal. Another allegation of racist abuse. For Vinicius Junior, what should be career defining European moments are repeatedly overshadowed by deeply troubling scenes that continue to stain some of football’s biggest stages.

Yet another allegation of racist abuse towards Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior brought a dreadful sense of deja vu during Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Benfica. For supporters who travel across Europe chasing iconic away nights, it was a sobering reminder that even the grandest arenas are not immune from the game’s darkest problems.

The play off first leg at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon was halted for around 10 minutes shortly after the Brazil forward opened the scoring early in the second half with a spectacular strike. What should have been a defining moment in a European tie quickly turned into controversy.

Vinicius Junior celebrated by dancing near the corner flag before becoming involved in a confrontation with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni. During an exchange of words, Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt as he spoke. Vinicius Junior then informed referee Francois Letexier that he had been racially insulted. Prestianni has denied this.

Letexier activated the anti racism protocol and for a time it appeared the game might not continue. Vinicius Junior left the pitch and sat on the bench before he and his team mates eventually returned to restart the match.

After the final whistle, Benfica’s former Madrid manager Jose Mourinho appeared to suggest that Vinicius Junior had provoked the situation. The Portuguese club later claimed there was a “defamation campaign” against 20 year old Argentina international Prestianni. On Wednesday, UEFA announced an investigation into the allegations. The teams meet again in the second leg at the Bernabeu.

But this was not an isolated incident. It was the latest chapter in a long and disturbing pattern.

According to La Liga, there have been 26 incidents of racist abuse directed at Vinicius Junior across 10 different Spanish stadiums since October 2021. That month La Liga filed its first official complaint following abuse during a Clasico at Camp Nou.

Other high profile moments followed. In September 2022, racist chants were directed at him before, during and after a match at Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano. In January 2023, a mannequin dressed to resemble him was hung from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground. In June 2025, four members of Frente Atletico received suspended prison sentences for their involvement.

In May 2023 at Valencia’s Mestalla, Vinicius Junior confronted supporters behind one of the goals during a break in play after alleging racist abuse. Three Valencia fans were later found guilty of a hate crime. Yet even after global outrage, many in Valencia believed the club had been unfairly portrayed.

Spanish writer and anti racism activist Moha Gerehou reflected on that reaction.

“The case of Superdeporte will be studied in the future, how they positioned Valencia as the victims,” Gerehou said. “There was a choice between protecting a victim of racism or protecting the interests of their football team, and their position was very clear.

“They had no qualms about minimising what Vinicius Jr experienced and what he said later. It often happens, there is a complaint of racism, but it is reduced to an anecdote, it is said they are just exaggerating. And there is no deep examination of structural racism.”

There appeared to be similar undertones in Lisbon.

Mourinho told Amazon Prime: “Vini was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and the game was over. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”

Asked if he thought Vinicius Junior incited the crowd and Benfica players, he replied: “Yes, I believe so. The words they exchanged, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent, I don’t want to say I believe Prestianni or don’t believe Vinicius, because they told two completely different things.

“I told him that when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him that the biggest person in the history of this club is Black. This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind, there was something racist, this is Benfica.

“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens. Always.”

Kylian Mbappe insisted he heard Prestianni “say that Vinicius is a monkey, five times”.

Prestianni responded on Instagram: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.

“I was never racist with anyone, and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”

There have long been attempts to frame the issue differently. Former Equatorial Guinea international Alberto Edjogo Owono explained: “Vinicius Jr’s case is special, as he is a Real Madrid player, and Real Madrid are both the most loved and most hated team in Spain.

“There is support for the player as he wears ‘our’ badge on his shirt, but also the opposite, ‘I am against that badge, so I am against his situation’. If you are not a fan of Vinicius Jr, often the conversation is not about the racist abuse but whether he provokes it or not. Football is so visceral that it brings out the most primitive in people. So it keeps happening.”

Back in 2022, Pedro Bravo said on television: “You have to respect the opponent. When you score a goal, if you want to dance samba, you go to the sambadrome in Brazil. What you have to do here is respect your fellow professionals and stop monkeying around.”

Bravo later apologised. Presenter Josep Pedrerol added: “It may be an unfortunate and inappropriate expression, but not racist.”

Vinicius Junior anticipated such responses, writing: “The script always ends with an apology and a ‘I was misinterpreted’.”

He later added: “Some people criticise my dancing, but the dancing is not mine alone.

“Ronaldinho, Neymar, Paqueta, Griezmann, Joao Felix, Matheus Cunha… Brazilian funk singers and samba dancers, Latin reggaeton singers, Black Americans. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. They say that happiness can bother. The happiness of a Black Brazilian being successful in Europe bothers much more. But my will to win, my smile and the sparkle in my eyes are much bigger than that.”

At the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, he said: “I will remain strong in the fight against racism. It is a very sad thing to talk about racism nowadays, but we have to continue in the fight so that people suffer less.”

In March, through tears, he explained: “Things have got worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me. Because people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the colour of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the colour of my skin.”

After the first criminal convictions in Spain for racist insults in a football stadium, he wrote: “I’ve always said I’m not a victim of racism. I’m a tormentor of racists. This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It is for all Black people. May other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows.”

Following the Benfica incident, he added: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to show how weak they are.”

For football fans who travel across Europe for Champions League nights, Clasicos, derbies and away day culture, this ongoing story cannot be ignored. The spectacle remains extraordinary. The passion is real. But until the abuse stops, the fight against racism will remain part of the matchday narrative wherever Vinicius Junior plays.