Real Madrid hands evidence to UEFA over Vinicius racism inquiry

Real Madrid announced on Thursday that they have delivered "all available evidence" to UEFA to back their Brazilian forward Vinicius Juniors claim of facing racist abuse in the recent Champions League fixture against Benfica.

The match on Tuesday which marked the opening leg of the knockout play-off round in Lisbon was halted for around ten minutes when Vinicius informed the referee that Benficas midfielder Gianluca Prestianni had insulted him by calling him a "monkey" amid a heated exchange.

The Argentine player who placed a hand over his mouth following Vinicius goal celebration dance towards the Benfica supporters has rejected the accusation.

On Wednesday UEFA stated they would probe claims of discriminatory conduct as outrage spread with Vinicius team-mates offering strong support to the player who has endured repeated racist incidents since arriving at Real Madrid in 2018.

Real Madrid has passed along every bit of evidence to UEFA about the events in the Benfica encounter which featured deplorable racist incidents the club noted in their official release.

"Real Madrid values the widespread support encouragement and fondness shown to our player Vinicius Jr by everyone in the worldwide football world."

Benfica released a message on Wednesday standing by Prestianni and describing efforts against him as a "defamation campaign" while coach Jose Mourinho raised doubts about Vinicius celebration.