The story of Real Madrid and Benfica’s clash in Lisbon is only progressing towards more tension as the days pass.
If the on-field drama and the racist abuse from Gianluca Prestianni towards Vinicius Jr. was not enough, Jose Mourinho intensified the fire after the game with some feisty comments about the refereeing and Vinicius.
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Benfica then released a statement supporting Prestianni and alleging that Vinicius was lying about the abuse – a stance that did not go down well in Madrid or across the globe.
The latest trigger
Now, as relayed by Fabrizio Romano in a recent update, Benfica have taken another step against Real Madrid, this time over another incident that occurred on the night.
The Portuguese club have filed an official complaint to UEFA against Real Madrid’s captain Federico Valverde for his clash with Samuel Dahl in the 82nd minute of the game.
Benfica file a complaint against Valverde. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
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With both players tussling for possession near the sidelines at the time, Valverde appeared to take a jab at Dahl with a punch, and Benfica held that his swinging his arm so violently deserved a stricter punishment.
The Portuguese club believe it is an act of violent misconduct and have made a report of how Valverde clearly took a blow at Dahl to get free of him, claiming that it deserved a red card. However, it was not even reviewed by VAR.
It remains to be seen what comes of the appeal, but it is highly unlikely that Valverde’s participation in the second leg will be threatened by the same. If anything, there may be a sanction towards the referee or the VAR officials.
Needless to say, however, the stage is set for an enthralling and high-tension second leg next week and both teams will come out all guns firing.
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