Jose Mourinho criticised Vinicius Junior's celebration after the forward scored in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica, before a confrontation in which the player said he had been the victim of racial abuse.

Vinicius gave Real Madrid the lead in the 50th minute at the Estadio da Luz. He celebrated his goal by dancing near the corner flag, before exchanging words with several Benfica players including Gianluca Prestianni, who was later accused of racial abuse.

Mourinho, who was also sent off in the 85th minute, and will be suspended for next week's second leg of the playoff at the Santiago Bernabeu, spoke to both players on the pitch during the 10-minute stoppage after the referee initiated UEFA's anti-racism protocol before play resumed.

"Vinicius said one thing and Prestianni said another. I don't want to say that I 100 percent support Prestianni."

"However, I can't say either that what Vinicius told me is the truth. I can't, I don't know."

"All I know is that up until that goal, it was a great game. Benfica started very well and Real Madrid were very strong."

"Then Vinicius scored a goal that only he or (Kylian) Mbappe could score. After that, he should have been lifted on the shoulders of his teammates and not bothered by 60,000 people in this stadium. That's all I'm saying," Mourinho told Movistar.

Mourinho then appeared to refer to the many racist abuse incidents suffered by Vinicius in recent years, which have resulted in prosecutions and sentences in Spanish courts.

"In how many stadiums does this happen? How many? He's an amazing player, I love him."

"But you score a goal like this. You hand it to your teammates. That's where the game ends."

"Something is wrong. Vinicius scored a fantastic goal. Why doesn't he celebrate like Eusebio, Pele, or Di Stefano?" said Mourinho.

The Benfica manager was also asked about the red card he received.

"I was sent off for saying something very clear. The referee had a piece of paper that said, (Aurelien) Tchouameni, (Alvaro) Carreras, and (Dean) Huijsen cannot receive a yellow card."

"He didn't want to give a yellow card to Carreras or Tchouameni. I told the referee because I have spent 1,400 games on the bench."

"He knows exactly who he can give a yellow card to and who he can't. We know how it works," Mourinho said.


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