Vinicius Junior: Thibaut Courtois says Real Madrid team-mate did nothing wrong in celebrating goal against Benfica | Football News

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois defended team-mate Vinicius Junior ahead of the second leg of their Champions League knockout play-off against Benfica, saying he did “nothing wrong” while celebrating.

Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni shortly after scoring the only goal in last week’s first leg in Lisbon.

Argentine winger Prestianni, who denied the allegation, was handed a provisional one-game ban by UEFA and will miss Wednesday’s second leg in Madrid.

However, he was seen training with the squad on Tuesday after travelling to Spain, with the session taken by Jose Mourinho, who will also be suspended for the game at the Bernabeu.

The former Real Madrid boss defended his player after the incident, and appeared to reference previous incidents of racism involving Vinicius.

“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,” he said. “A stadium where Vinicius plays something happens, always.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s game, Courtois was asked about the the alleged racism, and said his team-mate did not do anything different to Real Madrid’s opponents.

“Mourinho is Mourinho and, as a coach, you defend your club and what your player has told you,” he said.

“What disappoints me is using Vini’s celebration. He didn’t do anything wrong. He celebrated as many opponents have done against us because when they score against us, the euphoria is double or triple.

“It’s happened, and we need to move on. We cannot justify an alleged act of racism with a celebration.”

Arbeloa: Vinicius can show his best

Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa called Vinicius a “fighter” and backed him to show he is among the world’s best players during the return match at the Bernabeu.

“Vini Junior has always shown great courage and character,” he said. “Anyone in his situation, I don’t know how they would react. He has always done so bravely, showing tremendous personality.

“That has always been his response, and it always will be because he is a fighter. Tomorrow he will come out to fight and play a great match, showing that he is one of the best players on the planet.”

He also urged UEFA to “seize this opportunity” to show it is serious in dealing with racism, adding: “We are facing a great opportunity to make a significant step forward in the fight against racism.

“UEFA has always been a strong advocate in the fight against racism, and now they have the opportunity not to leave it as just a slogan or a nice banner before matches. I hope they seize this opportunity.”

Rui Costa: Prestianni is not racist

After the temporary suspension was announced, Benfica said they will appeal the decision “even though the timelines in question mean it’s unlikely to have any practical effect on the second leg”.

UEFA said further punishment could be handed out to Prestianni following a full investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector. It could carry a 10-game ban.

But Benfica president Rui Costa insisted the 20-year-old winger is “anything but racist”.

“I’m not on the pitch to know what was said or not said but as you can imagine, in a situation like that, a lot is said,” Costa told reporters on his way to Madrid, according to Benfica’s website.

“But we believe in our player’s word, because more than that, we know the players we have at home.

“Prestianni is being crucified as a racist person, and I can guarantee that he is anything but racist, and that is why we have such confidence in him as a player.

“We have filed an appeal because we believe that nothing has been proven and therefore, there is no justification for the player’s absence from this game.”

Vinicius’ history with incidents of racism

Vinicius has spoken out previously about repeated racist abuse he has suffered, saying in 2024 that he felt “less and less” like playing football because of the abuse.

In that same year, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for racially abusing him at a match in May 2023 – in scenes reminiscent of those in Benfica, as the game was also stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius Jr alerted the referee to fans he felt had abused him.

After the game, the Brazilian said LaLiga “belongs to racism”. But LaLiga president Javier Tebas responded that Vinicius had been “manipulated” in calling out the abuse. Tebas later apologised for those comments.

The three supporters from the Valencia incident were also fined €5,000 and banned from sporting venues for one year for making racist gestures. Valencia were fined €27,000 and had their stadium partially closed for three matches.

Since then, Spain has been punishing supporters for racist abuse towards Vinicius. Four people were convicted for hanging an effigy with his name on it off a highway bridge in Madrid earlier in 2023.

Three of them were sentenced to seven months in prison for hate crimes and threats, while the other was sentenced to 15 months in prison for sharing the images online.

All four had to take an anti-discrimination training programme to have those sentences suspended, while they were also fined €60,000 and banned from sports venues for two years.

And just last year, five Real Valladolid fans were found guilty for racially abusing Vinicius during a match in 2022. They faced one year in prison and were fined up to €1,620 – but again the prison sentences were suspended as long as they did not attend a football match for three years.