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A voice against racism
At the 2023 ‘Ballon d'Or’ ceremony, Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior received the Socrates Award for his ongoing work in combating racism and discrimination in football.
Since joining Real Madrid in 2018, Vinícius has been a constant target of racist abuse, but he has never backed down. On the contrary: he has always taken a stand, raised his voice against prejudice and fought not only for himself, but also for so many other Black players who face similar situations both on and off the pitch.
His campaign has brought the issue to the forefront of discussions around the world, both within and outside football, increasingly drawing the attention of sports authorities, players, coaches, fans, journalists and even politicians.
This year, we saw yet another example of how this tireless struggle has yielded results, helping to bring about important and lasting changes in the sport we love so much.
The incident at the Estádio da Luz
On 17 February this year, during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and Benfica, Vinícius once again found himself at the centre of an incident that made the headlines in newspapers around the world.
After scoring the winning goal at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, the Brazilian winger celebrated by dancing next to the corner flag, in front of the Benfica supporters. The celebration was seen by Benfica’s players, coaching staff and supporters as a provocation and ended up sparking a heated confrontation between the two sides. French referee François Letexier showed Vinícius a yellow card in response.
But that was when the situation took a much more serious turn. Shortly after receiving the card, Vinícius ran over to Letexier to tell him that Benfica’s Argentine winger, Gianluca Prestianni, had directed racist abuse at him. The allegation triggered UEFA’s anti-racism protocol, and the match was halted for 10 minutes.
Upon reviewing the footage, however, the referee was unable to identify what Prestianni had said, as the player had covered his mouth with his shirt whilst speaking. The match then continued as normal.
The match ended 1–0, but the main talking point after the final whistle was the incident that outraged not only the Real Madrid players, but also supporters and football fans around the world – something which, precisely because Prestianni covered his mouth, could not be substantiated or adequately punished.
What followed was a domino effect.
The reaction from the football world
After the match, Vinícius took to social media to write: ‘Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to show just how weak they are. But they are protected by others who, in theory, have a duty to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new to me or to my team. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed piece of protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like to be in the spotlight in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.’ (Instagram)
Several Real Madrid players have spoken out in support of their team-mate.
Kylian Mbappé, an eight-time nominee for the Ballon d'Or, claimed to have heard Prestianni call Vinícius a racist slur: “He said it five times. I’m being as clear as I can.” (Real Madrid)
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold also condemned the incident: “It ruined the night. It’s a disgrace to the sport and to society as a whole. There’s no place for this sort of thing.” (CBS Sports Golazo)
The club’s then manager, Álvaro Arbeloa, also spoke out about the incident, whilst Real Madrid itself issued a statement: ‘Real Madrid will continue to work, in collaboration with all institutions, to eradicate racism, violence and hatred in sport and society.’ (Real Madrid)
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) also issued a statement in support of Vinícius.
Prestianni, for his part, vehemently denied the accusation. After the match, he wrote on social media: ‘I want to make it clear that at no point did I direct racist insults at Vinícius Júnior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he had heard. I have never been racist towards anyone and I regret the threats I have received from Real Madrid players.’ (Instagram)
Benfica gave the player their full support and described the accusations as a ‘smear campaign’. (BBC Sport)
Mourinho weighs in
At the time, the Portuguese club was managed by José Mourinho, who also spoke about the incident, commenting on Vinícius’s celebration, which he considered provocative: “This happens in so many stadiums, and always with the same bloke. Something isn’t right. On the pitch, I said to Vinícius: ‘You’ve scored a goal that the whole world will see. Why did you celebrate like that? Why?’” (beIN Sports)
The statement drew criticism from the football world, mainly for focusing on the celebration rather than the incident reported by Vinícius.
Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany questioned the Portuguese manager’s stance: “Mourinho is essentially questioning Vinícius Júnior’s character by bringing up the celebration to discredit what happened at that moment. For me, as a leader, that is a huge mistake. It is something we cannot accept." (Diario AS)
Kompany, however, was keen to emphasise that, in his view, this was a one-off mistake and not a reflection of Mourinho’s character: “All the players who have worked with him admire him. I know what sort of person he is. I understand that he is defending his team and his club, and that is why he made that decision. You can’t be a bad person and, at the same time, have so many former players speaking so highly of you. That’s why I know he’s a good person. I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I also know what I’ve heard. He made a mistake.” (Diario AS)
In response to the criticism, Mourinho clarified his position: he would not take sides nor claim to be certain about what happened without evidence to corroborate either side’s version of events. Vinícius was saying one thing, whilst Prestianni was saying another.
Mourinho, however, made it clear that, if the allegations were proven, he would immediately withdraw his support for the Argentine winger: “If my player has failed to respect these principles – which are mine and Benfica’s – his career under a manager called Mourinho and at a club like Benfica will come to an end. I’m no legal expert, but I’m not ignorant either: the presumption of innocence is a right. [...] If the player is indeed guilty, I will no longer look at him in the same way and, as far as I’m concerned, it will all be over. But I need to qualify this with a lot of ‘ifs’.” (GE)
Ultimately, the central issue was simple – as Thierry Henry put it: “We don’t know what Prestianni said, because he put his shirt over his mouth so nobody could see. That, obviously, is suspicious. Clearly, he didn’t want people to see what he was saying.” (CBS Sports Golazo)
The investigation into the case
The day after the incident, UEFA launched an investigation into the case. A racist offence, such as the one Vinícius alleged, would result in a mandatory 10-match ban for Prestianni, but first it would be necessary to prove what had happened.
Prestianni received a provisional one-match ban and was ruled out of Benfica’s return leg against Real Madrid the following week. In an almost poetic twist, Vinícius also scored the winning goal in that match. He then ran to celebrate in a similar fashion by the corner flag, this time at his beloved Santiago Bernabéu.
During the match, Real Madrid fans unfurled a huge banner with a simple message: ‘No to racism’.
But, because of the shirt that covered Prestianni’s mouth, it seemed as though the incident would have few consequences.
A few weeks later, he was called up by the Argentina manager, Lionel Scaloni, for the upcoming friendlies.
A controversial punishment
It would take more than two months before further consequences for his actions were announced – and, for many, they fell short of expectations.
Prestianni claimed that he had covered his mouth to utter a homophobic, rather than a racist, insult, and that Vinícius had misunderstood what he heard.
At the end of April, UEFA announced a six-match ban for Prestianni for ‘discriminatory conduct’, relating to the use of homophobic language. However, three of those six matches were subject to a two-year probationary period. In practice, this meant that he would serve only a three-match ban, provided he did not commit any further offences during that period. UEFA also stated that the punishment already included the provisional suspension he had served in the second leg against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Was that the end of the story?
Would there be no rules or mechanisms in place to deal with similar cases in the future?
Fortunately, Vinícius’s refusal to remain silent about the incident – yet another of the many he has unfortunately endured throughout his career – coupled with the support of so many other voices in world football, helped to drive new measures.
The ‘Vini Jr. Rule’ is born
A few days after the announcement of Prestianni’s six-match suspension, a special meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) resulted in FIFA’s approval of a historic change in world football: players who cover their mouths during matches will now be shown a straight red card.
Following the approval of the new rule, FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke about its importance: “If a player covers his mouth and says something racist, he must be sent off – obviously. We must assume that he said something he shouldn’t have, because otherwise there would be no reason for him to cover his mouth.” (GE)
Prompted by the incident between Vinícius and Prestianni, the new rule represents an important step in protecting players and combating racism in sport.
Aptly named the ‘Vini Jr. Law’, the rule pays tribute to the player who has become a symbol of so many historic victories, both on and off the pitch.
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The Vini Jr. Law comes to the World Cup
At the recent World Cup, we saw first-hand how a single person can drive much-needed change in the sport we love.
During the tournament, the Vini Jr. Rule was applied in two different matches.
Firstly, in the match between Paraguay and Turkey, Miguel Almirón was shown a straight red card for covering his mouth during a clash with Mert Müldür. A few days later, Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié was also sent off for a similar offence against Mexico’s Santi Giménez.
The application of the new rule was well received and praised around the world.
Of course, there are still some caveats. The way the rule is applied depends on the referee in each match and, generally speaking, its use is still optional, left to the discretion of each competition organiser. In other words, it is not mandatory in all tournaments.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that racism, unfortunately, remains present in sport, with or without the new rule. After analysing around six million posts, FIFA identified 89,000 cases of abuse on social media during the group stage of this year’s World Cup alone, 11 per cent of which were racist in nature.
Even so, the Vini Jr. Rule sets an important precedent: this type of abuse will never be tolerated amongst players and coaching staff, however disguised it may be.
Brazil adopts the new rule
The successful implementation of the rule at football’s biggest tournament has certainly helped to drive its wider adoption. In mid-July, CONMEBOL followed FIFA’s example and adopted the rule for its competitions.
Later that same month, the CBF approved a wide-ranging package of changes to the rules of Brazilian football, including the Vini Jr. Rule. The new rules will apply to the Brazilian Championship Série A (where Vinícius began his career with Flamengo), as well as Série B, the men’s Copa do Brasil and the Brazilian Women’s Championship A1.
This is the second ‘Vini Jr. Law’ to be implemented in Brazil.
In 2023, another law bearing the same name had already been enacted in the country to combat racism at sporting events. Unlike the new FIFA rule, this legislation – officially known as the Vini Jr. State Policy to Combat Racism in Stadiums and Sports Arenas – is legally binding and sets out protocols for dealing with cases of discrimination inside stadiums.
The law requires organisers of sporting events to adopt specific procedures in such cases, such as temporarily halting matches, identifying those responsible, notifying the relevant authorities and even permanently suspending events. It also allows any member of the public to report cases of racism in stadiums and provides for anti-racism educational campaigns during matches, primarily via big screens and public address systems.
Rio de Janeiro, Vinícius’s home state, was the first to enact the law, followed by other states which went on to adopt similar regulations.
A legacy that goes beyond football
At just 26 years old, Vini has become the driving force behind significant and far-reaching changes that are helping to transform both the sport we love and society as a whole.
And an interesting final chapter in this story has unfolded in recent months.
Following Arbeloa’s departure from Real Madrid at the end of the season, he was replaced by none other than José Mourinho, who had also left Benfica. The Portuguese manager, who had previously led the club to three titles in the early 2010s, returned to the Santiago Bernabéu with an important mission during pre-season.
In his first major decision, the veteran manager worked to ensure that one player in particular did not leave the club – as you might have guessed: Vinícius Júnior.
The Brazilian’s contract was due to expire in June next year, and Arsenal, the English Premier League champions, were preparing a multi-million offer to sign him. In response, Real Madrid improved their offer to keep the player, who has now extended his contract with the club until 2032.
Prioritising Vinícius’s retention was a natural choice and one that could yield very positive results.
After all, he has been one of the club’s most important players in recent years, with 128 goals and 100 assists, as well as 14 titles won along the way – including, of course, two Champions League titles.
As Mourinho himself explained: “The most important thing is Vinícius’s contract renewal. It’s important for him, obviously, but it’s also a joy for all of us.” (ESPN)
Under Mourinho’s guidance, Vinícius will continue to delight the crowds on the pitch, whilst remaining steadfast in his fight off it.
And although it has been a long and gruelling journey, full of setbacks and disappointments, Vinícius’s fight against racism in football has yielded significant results – such as the laws named after him – not just for him, but also for any other player who dreams of seeing the ugliest side of the world’s most beautiful sport disappear for good.
