Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League playoff round win over Benfica in Lisbon was overshadowed by alleged racist abuse of Vinícius Júnior.

The Madrid forward left the field and refused to return resulting in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes, after accusing a member of the Benfica team of making a racist comment.

The referee paused the game in line with UEFA regulations, but it appeared at one stage that the first leg in Lisbon would not be able to continue.

It came after the Brazilian had given his team the lead with a wonderful individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half.

After celebrating in front of the home fans, he became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee. He spent much of the time that the game was paused seated in the Madrid dugout.

Vinícius has spoken out multiple times against racism he has been subject to inside stadiums, saying in November 2024: "I play in Spain, where I suffered a lot and still suffer."

In June of that year, In June, three Valencia fans were jailed for eight months for racially abusing the 24-year-old during a LaLiga game in May 2023, in the first verdict of its kind in Spain.

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A member of Benfica's coaching staff was sent off during the lengthy stoppage, whilst in a separate incident manager Jose Mourinho was also dismissed.

There were further unpleasant scenes when every touch of the ball by Vinicius following the incident was greeted by loud boos and jeers from home fans, so too Kylian Mbappé who had also been visibly upset during the pause in play.

It was a match that Madrid largely dominated and ought to have won by greater than a single goal.

Anatoliy Trubin, Benfica's goalkeeper whose goal in the dying seconds of the league meeting between the teams in January had set up this tie, was in smart form to keep Madrid at bay in the first half.

The hosts had been seconds from elimination before the Ukrainian's headed goal saved them and also condemned Madrid to the playoffs , but they failed to take advantage of their second chance in the tournament and were deservedly beaten.

The game ought to have been remembered for the quality of the winning goal. The odds were stacked against Vinicius when he received the ball and made a dart for the penalty area, but his curling effort from range flew on an outrageous arc high over Trubin and into the top corner.

There were yet more stoppages at the end of an ugly night when water bottles and other missiles rained down on Real's players from home fans in the closing minutes.

Information from PA was used in this recap.