UEFA has responded to a racist incident during the match between Real Madrid and Benfica Lisbon in the Champions League playoff second leg and imposed a penalty.
UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body has ordered the partial closure of the Santiago Bernabeu for one match due to “racist and/or discriminatory behavior by its fans” during the match against Benfica. However, the penalty will only come into effect if such an incident is repeated within a year. In addition, UEFA has imposed a fine of €15,000 on Los Blancos. During the second leg against Benfica, a fan in the Madrid stand made a Nazi salute, which was captured on TV cameras. Members of Real Madrid’s security service immediately located him, identified him, and ejected him from the stadium before the start of the match.
The club subsequently issued a statement distancing itself from the incident. “Real Madrid condemns such gestures and statements that incite violence and hatred in sport and society,” said the statement, which the club subsequently published.
Match marked by the fight against racism
The first leg between Benfica and Real in the Champions League play-offs caused quite a stir. A racist insult by Gianluca Prestianni against Vinicius Junior sparked days of discussion across Europe and resulted in a provisional UEFA ban against the Argentine player who plays for Benfica. The Portuguese had briefly hoped that Prestianni would be able to play, but as expected, he was not included in the squad for the second leg.
Partly because of this incident, the second leg at the Bernabeu was dominated by the fight against racism. A banner with the words “no al racismo” (“no to racism”) highlighted this intention, which was ultimately torpedoed in an outrageous manner by one fan.
