Vinicius Junior: The “big mistake” made by Jose Mourinho after the “disgusting” incident.

Trent Alexander-Arnold said the alleged racist abuse of teammate Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s Champions League match against Benfica was a “disgrace on football”, while rival coach Jose Mourinho was criticized for his comments on the incident.

The match was stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse by Benfica player Gianluca Pristiani towards referee François Leixier, and he and his teammates temporarily left the field.

The Brazilian striker, who was the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his football career, said that “racists are, above all, cowards” in a post on Instagram.

Benfica boss Mourinho claimed Vinicius did not “celebrate in a respectful way” after his stunning goal in a 1-0 win shortly before the incident at the Estadio da Luz.

The former Real Madrid and Chelsea coach said: “There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium.

“The stadium where Vinicius plays always happens.”

In response to Mourinho’s comments, former Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf said on Amazon Prime: “I think he is still emotional. I think he made a big mistake today to justify racist abuse.”

“He says it’s okay when Vinicius provokes you to be racist, and I think that’s a big mistake.

He added: “We should never justify racist abuse. Vinicius is fed up with this inexcusable behavior from people. I know Mourinho agrees with me by heart, but he expressed himself a bit sadly, I think.”

England international Alexander Arnold condemned the abuse in his post-match interview.

Alexander-Arnold said: “I think what happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance. It is also a wonderful goal.”

“Vinnie has been through this many times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace.

“There is no place for this in football or society. It is disgusting.”