Real Madrid's France internationals Kylian Mbappé, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni on Wednesday led the support for their Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian became embroiled in a race row with Benfica striker Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League clash against Benfica.
Vinicius claimed the Argentine directed racist insults at him following his spectacular goal early in the second-half at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night.
After Vinicius informed referee François Letexier of Prestianni's comments, the French official crossed his hands at the wrists to highlight that he was stopping the match and implementing the anti-racism protocol laid down by world football's governing body Fifa.
Following conversations between players, coaches and officials lasting 10 minutes, the two teams eventually carried on the fixture to determine who will advance to the last-16 of European club football's most prestigious competition.
“We have to set an example for all the children who look up to us," Mbappé told reporters after the game.
The France skipper added: "There are things we can’t accept. I have nothing against Benfica, the club, or its coach, who for me is one of the best, and the club is the best in Portugal and one of the best in history.
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"We can’t accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like that .. this kid doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League any more, but we’ll see what happens."
Tchouaméni, who was deemed man-of-the match, said: "We were prepared to leave the field if Vini wanted.
"But he told us that we had to go on and win and that's what we did."
Camavinga added: "For sure, things like this affect Vini. If they say hurtful words to you, it affects you, but we have to support him.
"With things like this, there must be a zero-tolerance policy. It’s not about stopping for 10 minutes, but stopping the entire match."
Uefa, which organises the tournament, said on Wednesday that it would investigate the incidents.
"If they lead to disciplinary sanctions, these will be announced on the Uefa website," said a Uefa spokesperson.
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Under Uefa rules, any player found to have insulted an opponent with racist remarks faces a suspension of at least 10 matches.
Prestianni, 20, made his professional debut for the Argentine club Velez Sarsfield in May 2022 five months after his 16th birthday. He completed a transfer to Benfica in December 2023.
On Wednesday, he took to social media to deny making racist comments.
"I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.
"I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."
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Vinícius has filed 18 legal complaints over racist abuse directed at him since 2022.
In June 2024, three Valencia supporters were jailed for eight months for racially abusing him during a La Liga match in May 2023, the first conviction of its kind in Spain.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian football federation, CBF, expressed its support for the striker.
"The CBF stands in solidarity with Vinicius Junior who was the victim of another act of racism," it said in a statement.
"Racism is a crime. It is unacceptable. It cannot exist in football or anywhere else.
"Vini, you are not alone. Your attitude in activating the protocol is an example of courage and dignity. We are proud of you."
Madrid will take their 1-0 lead into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on 25 February.
In other last-16 play-off first leg ties on Tuesday night, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Monaco. Borussia Dortmund saw off Atalanta 2-0 and Galatasaray thrashed Juventus 5-2.
