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Real Madrid megastar calls for toughest punishment after alleged racism incident: ‘Doesn’t deserve to play in UCL’
New images from the Estadio da Luz have begun to reveal more details about the tense moment that overshadowed Real Madrid’s Champions League clash against Benfica.
What should have been remembered for Vinicius Jr.’s decisive goal instead turned into a serious controversy after the Brazilian reported a racist insult during the second half.
According to the sequence of events, Vinicius immediately approached referee Francois Letexier to inform him about the alleged incident involving Benfica youngster Gianluca Prestianni.
The official reacted quickly, activating the anti-racism protocol and halting the match for several minutes as the situation was assessed.
During this tense period, several Real Madrid players surrounded the referee and the Benfica players, but one of the most vocal figures was Kylian Mbappe.
The French forward did not hesitate to defend his teammate and directly confronted Prestianni.
Images broadcast showed Mbappe repeatedly addressing the Argentine youngster, shouting, “You’re a f**king racist!”
Addressing the event
After the match, Mbappe spoke at length, making it clear that the issue went far beyond the result on the pitch.
He began by highlighting the responsibility that top players carry when it comes to fighting racism in football.
“We, the stars of world football, are trying to change all this because we know we have a big voice. We have to set an example for everyone and all the children who look up to us.
“This is the Champions League, and these are things we cannot accept. In the end, we have to say that we shouldn’t generalise.
“That’s sometimes a problem. I’ll say it, I’ve always come to Portugal, and I have friends and teammates here. They’ve always treated me very well,” he said, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
There needs to be an action
He then explained why silence is not an option in such situations, stressing that action must be taken when unacceptable behaviour occurs.
“When someone behaves like this, we have to say something. Then people booed us. My opinion is that they don’t know what happened.
“I have nothing against the fans, against Benfica, or their coach, one of the best in the world, with a great history. But something has to be done.
We can’t accept that a player who plays in the best football competition in Europe behaves like that.
Vinicius Jr. allegedly suffered a racist incident against Benfica. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“He doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League. That’s my opinion, but let’s see what happens.
“I’m not the one who makes the decisions. Let’s see, let’s leave it to UEFA, who always try to do something. Now there’s a serious case and action has to be taken,” he noted.
Leaving the field
Finally, the French forward revealed that Real Madrid even considered leaving the pitch in solidarity with Vinicius.
The decision, he explained, was entirely up to the Brazilian winger. He concluded,
“Yes, we did think about leaving the field. That’s why we left; it was the team’s decision.
“Then I saw that other players came back. We won the game, but today it’s not important; there are more important things than football.
“I asked Vinicius what he wanted to do. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do. We’ll never leave him alone,” he concluded.
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Jenson Button reveals whether F1 world champions get to keep the iconic trophy
Jenson Button won his one and only Formula 1 world championship in remarkable circumstances in 2009.
Button and his Brawn-GP team barely made it onto the grid after forerunners Honda withdrew from F1 at the end of 2008. But despite scant resources relative to McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, Brawn pulled off one of the sport’s great upsets.
The Brackley-based team, which was later bought by Mercedes, found a loophole in the rules that allowed them to generate enormous amounts of extra downforce through a double diffuser.
Button took six victories in the first seven races as rivals scrambled to catch up, and while he didn’t win any of the last 10, he was able to hold off Sebastian Vettel to win the title.
Jenson Button had to ‘give back’ his F1 trophy when he lost the title
In a recent Q&A on the Sky Sports F1 YouTube channel, Button was asked whether F1 world champions are allowed to keep the trophy.
Designed in 1995, the silver trophy features the signature of every title winner, starting with Giuseppe Farina (1950). It is designed to have enough space for the first 100 seasons of the championship.
However, drivers are only allowed to keep it for as long as they are the title holder, then they have to hand it over to the new champion. Vettel dethroned Button in 2010 and wasn’t beaten until 2014.
“The answer is no [you don’t get to keep it], which amazed me,” said Button.
“I got this trophy for the year when I won the world championship. You get to look at it. If you don’t win it the next year, you have to give it back! That’s the one trophy that travels to the current world champion.”
Michael Schumacher holds the record for the longest title streak in history, having reigned from 2000 to 2004 during his pomp at Ferrari.
How much Jenson Button’s replica world championship trophy costs
In order to fill the gap in his trophy cabinet, Button was told he had to buy a replica. The Briton, who signed for McLaren before the 2010 season, refused.
Fortunately, his manager stepped in, shelling out around £35k to ensure Button still had the silverware.
“I had to buy a world championship replica trophy,” he explained. “I was like, ‘I’m not doing that! I’ve just spent a whole year working on winning that trophy, so my manager was kind enough to buy it for me.
“I think the replica was about £35k, so it’s a lot of cash to fork out for something you’ve won already! It was a lovely gift from my manager.”
Last December, Lando Norris became Britain’s first new champion since Button and the 11th overall. He begins the defence of the trophy, literally and metaphorically, in Australia on 8 March.