Soccer Racismo Sounds The Same Every Time | Defector

"In response to the strike, and to Vinícius's totally normal celebration of it, the incensed Lisbon crowd sent boos, water bottles, and other projectiles raining down on the Brazilian forward and his teammates. Ginned up by the atmosphere, Benfica's Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni ran over to confront the goalscorer and exchanged some heated words, most all of them obscured by the jersey Prestianni hiked up over his nose and mouth."

"Instances like this are surely less frequent today than in prior times, which to me only calls to mind Malcolm X's bit about knives. To hear certain people tell it, the word "monkey" must possess some downright mystical attributes-always being heard, but somehow never actually being said. Prestianni is only the latest victim of those devilishly deceptive sounds, though Vinícius himself is no stranger to this particular rodeo."

Just over midway through a Champions League playoff between Benfica and Real Madrid, Vinícius struck a remarkable goal and celebrated. The Lisbon crowd responded with boos, thrown water bottles and other projectiles aimed at Vinícius and his teammates. Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni confronted the goalscorer and exchanged heated words while covering his face with his jersey; Vinícius alleges Prestianni called him "mono" (monkey) in Spanish, while Prestianni denies the charge and says he was misunderstood. Racial taunts like "monkey" have long targeted Black players in soccer. Stadium noise and muffled speech complicate verification, but prior incidents and Vinícius's history of abuse inform the dispute.

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