Benfica v Real Madrid: Champions League tie halted after Real Madrid players leave field

Real Madrid's Champions League knockout phase play-off tie at Benfica was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius Junior reported alleged racist abuse and he and his team-mates left the field.

Referee Francois Letexier made the crossed arms gesture to signal racist abuse following a conversation with Vinicius.

The Brazilian forward had put the Spanish visitors 1-0 up in the second half at the Estadio da Luz, before being booked for an excessive celebration.

Following an interaction with Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to referee Letexier while gesturing towards the opposition player.

He then walked off the pitch and was followed by his Real Madrid team-mates, but play restarted 10 minutes later, in the 60th minute.

The match was played out to its conclusion, with Real winning 1-0 after 12 minutes of stoppage time, during which an object thrown from the crowd struck Vinicius on the arm.

Team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold said the alleged racist abuse was a "disgrace to football" when speaking to Amazon Prime after the match.

"It's a difficult situation. Hopefully there's justice. There is no place for it in football or society."

Uefa established a three-step racism protocol to handle incidents of discrimination inside stadiums in 2009.

It is designed to give referees the power to halt or even abandon matches if racist behaviour continues.

If the referee becomes aware of a racist incident, they will:

Stop the match. If the incident involves members of the crowd, an announcement will be made over the public address system calling for any racist behaviour to stop.

If it continues, the game is stopped for five to 10 minutes and the players will be taken off the pitch while another announcement is made.

If it resumes after the second restart, the referee can abandon the game.

A match will only be abandoned once the security of the players and public has been assessed. The case is then referred to Uefa's disciplinary authorities.

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