What unfolded on the field in Real Madrid’s game against Benfica last night was shameful on multiple levels, especially when one considers how appalling it is for an on-field player to engage in a racist slur towards an opponent.
A lot has been said about football not having a place for racism, and strict actions have been taken against perpetrators in the stands.
For a player himself to do it, that too on the UEFA Champions League stage, is a new low.
Vinicius Jr., who was again the target of the said offence, refused to play and approached the referee immediately after being insulted by Gianluca Prestianni, and tensions ran high throughout the game after that point.
Brawl in the dressing room
Now, as reported by COPE, the tensions between Real Madrid and Benfica did not end on the field and extended even into the dressing room.
There was, in fact, a brawl between a Real Madrid club employee and Benfica’s president, Rui Costa.
While initially thought to have been a physical fight, the outlet has confirmed that the brawl was not as physical as initially thought, but indeed a reality.
The person in question was not a player nor a member of the coaching staff, but Cesar Nanclares, a member of the club’s media division.
At the time, he was recording the reactions of both teams after the game and the situation between the two sides. At that moment, Benfica’s president, Rui Costa, entered the scene and asked him to stop filming.
The Real Madrid media person, however, refused to stop recording, and Costa then made a gesture with his hand and put his hand on Nanclares twice to reiterate his point that recording was not a good idea.
At that point, both parties had to be physically separated to prevent any escalation, as neither believed they were in the wrong.