Vinícius Júnior jeered by Benfica fans. Madrid supporters show anti-racism banner

MADRID (AP) - Benfica fans loudly booed Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday, after the Brazilian accused an opponent of racially abusing him in the first game.

The more than 3,000 Benfica fans at the Bernabeu jeered nearly every time Vinícius touched the ball. They celebrated when he lost control of the ball early in the game. The Benfica supporters also booed emphatically when the name of the Brazilian player was announced in the starting lineup ahead of the match.

The boos gradually lost force as the match went on. The score was tied 1-1 after the first half-hour. Vinícius participated in the buildup of what would have been Madrid's second goal but it was disallowed for offside.

Vinícius was attracting most of the attention at the Bernabeu following what happened in the first leg in Lisbon last week, when he accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him "monkey" after the Madrid star scored the 1-0 winner and celebrated by the Benfica corner flag.

Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinícius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not play on Wednesday even though the Argentine traveled to the Spanish capital. UEFA earlier Wednesday rejected Benfica's last-minute appeal against the provisional suspension.

Last week's match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee installed the anti-racism protocol following Vinícius' complaint to him.

A few Benfica fans were seen doing monkey gestures from the stands after the match at the Stadium of Light last week.

Before Wednesday's match, Madrid fans displayed a banner saying "No To Racism." A "respect" banner also was shown behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.

Madrid fans also jeered when Benfica central defender Nicolás Otamendi touched the ball. Otamendi, who is also Argentine, was one of the players that confronted Vinícius after the Brazilian's celebration by the Benfica flag.

Also missing for Benfica was coach José Mourinho, the former Madrid coach who sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee. Mourinho did not participate in the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, and was expected to watch the match from the stands at the Bernabeu.