Thierry Henry gave a passionate speech after Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racially abusing Vinicius Junior during a Champions League play-off match between Benfica and Real Madrid.
It took a moment of brilliance from the Brazilian to break the deadlock between the two teams in the second half, as he cut in from the left and curled a beautiful strike past Anatoliy Trubin. But ugly scenes overshadowed what should have been the highlight of the night.
In the aftermath of the away team's celebrations, Vinicius ran over to referee Francois Letexier, who made a crossed arms gesture to signal accusations of racist abuse. Cameras picked up an interaction between the winger and Benfica's Prestianni, who covered his mouth before appearing to say something to his opponent.
Play was halted for 10 minutes before eventually resuming and there has been widespread condemnation from Real Madrid players and the wider football community following the final whistle. Kylian Mbappe has called on UEFA to ban Prestianni from the competition, while Trent Alexander-Arnold labelled the whole incident 'a disgrace to football'.
Thierry Henry: 'I Can Relate' to What Happened to Vinicius
Thierry Henry standing with a microphone
In the aftermath of the match's conclusion, Henry was asked to give his thoughts on the matter as a pundit for CBS Sports. The Arsenal legend said: "I can relate to what Vinicius Junior is going through. It happened to me so many times on the field, I talked about it so many times.
"I've also been accused of looking for excuses after games when that happened to me. So at times you feel lonely because it's going to be your word against his word.
"We don't know what Prestianni has said, because he was very courageous and put his shirt over his mouth to make sure we were not able to see what he said. So clearly, you already look suspicious because you didn't want people to see or read what you said.
"Then the reaction of Vinicius is telling me that something not right has happened. So we're going to have to wait and see what has been said — we still don't know, Vinicius can tell us his side, and Prestianni, I'm sure, will not tell us what he actually said, because I saw at one point it was Kylian Mbappe who confronted him and he said to Kylian 'I didn't say anything'. Well, you must have said something at the very least."
Henry Gives Powerful Speech After New Information Emerges
Gianluca Prestianni Posts Statement After Vinicius Jr Incident
Gianluca Prestianni Posts Statement After Vinicius Jr Incident
Despite Henry's initial comments regarding Prestianni not revealing what was said, Mbappe went on to accuse the 20-year-old of calling Vinicius 'a monkey' in a subsequent interview. Prestianni has since denied the accusations.
Reacting to the new comments, Henry went on to demand that those who stand against racism in campaigns throw their support behind the Madrid star. He said: "I want to see the big guys who always talk and do stuff and take pictures.
"Listen, I'm going to say something that's pretty strong here. I don't like Real Madrid, but I'm a Madridista tonight.
"You don't want to see that. I don't care what shirt Vinicius Junior is wearing. I don't want to see that and I heard some people saying, 'It's always happening with him'. Who cares? That's the issue here — why are we trying to move the subject or the situation? Let's go back to the point! What has been said? It's been said that Vinicius is a 'monkey'. What are we talking about once again? What shall we do?
"And on top of that, he can't celebrate? What are we talking about? No, it's not a generalisation of what Benfica is as a club. We all have massive respect for Benfica but that individual needs to answer to what Kylian has said. He cannot just come out and say, 'I didn't say anything'. Well, why did you cover your mouth then?
"But now we can talk about something, I don't like to speculate. I believe Kylian. He left me a message, I can't wait to hear it. I don't usually talk about what I do on my phone, but this is important, I called him, I wanted to know what the guy said. But at the same time, we had the video.
"Enough is enough. It's a beautiful game, but sometimes the rules that we have are from where the game is in the eyes of people. We're here to score goals and make people happy, but when someone is getting hurt, we don't act? We vicitimise the guy? Seriously, what are we talking about?"
Check Out Henry's Full Speech Below: