"This shames football" - Rio Ferdinand outraged by racist scandal involving Vinicius
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
Manchester United legend and pundit Rio Ferdinand has issued a strong response to the incident that occurred during the match between Benfica and Real Madrid.
Details: The former defender voiced his full support for Vinicius Junior and thanked the global football stars who did not remain silent.
“Respect to Trent and Kylian Mbappé for standing by Vinicius last night. We cannot stay silent when things like this happen,” Ferdinand said in his statement.
Rio expressed genuine disbelief that in 2026, racism is still an issue in major sports. He was particularly outraged by attempts from some fans and pundits to justify the abuse directed at the Brazilian.
“How are we still sitting here discussing racism? How can people try to justify someone saying racist things? It just makes no sense,” the Englishman commented emotionally.
Ferdinand also drew attention to criticism directed at Vinicius himself, who is often accused of provocative behavior.
“Is Vini to blame? Is he not supposed to celebrate like that? How is that even related? We can't accept this. Football is called the beautiful game because it is beautiful, but this kind of garbage drags us far backwards,” Rio emphasized.
It is worth noting that the match itself ended with a narrow Real Madrid victory, but this episode overshadowed everything on the pitch.
Reminder: Bayern Munich forward Nicolas Jackson suggested that Vinicius should call white people "pigs".
