'That's our Vinícius:' Another goal and another dance by the corner flag for Madrid star

MADRID (AP) — After being loudly booed, Vinícius Júnior danced again. This time in front of Real Madrid supporters while leading his team to the round of 16 of the Champions League, a week after accusing a Benfica opponent of racially insulting him.

Vinícius scored an 80th-minute goal to give Madrid a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 aggregate win over Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.

Vinícius celebrated by dancing by the corner flag just like in the first leg — then in front of Benfica fans — which ignited a confrontation with Benfica players and the accusation that Gianluca Prestianni called him “monkey.”

“That’s our Vinícius,” said Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who scored Madrid’s first goal in the 16th, a couple of minutes after Benfica had taken the lead through Rafa Silva.

Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinícius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not play on Wednesday even though the Argentine traveled to the Spanish capital. UEFA earlier Wednesday rejected Benfica’s last-minute appeal against the provisional suspension.

Last week’s match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee installed the anti-racism protocol following Vinícius’ complaint to him.

On Wednesday, Vinícius scored on a breakaway, calmly sending a low shot past the goalkeeper for his sixth goal in his last five matches for Madrid.

“I'm happy that Vini is dancing,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “Because if he's dancing, it means that he is scoring.”

The more than 3,000 Benfica fans at the Bernabeu had jeered nearly every time Vinícius touched the ball early on. At one point, they celebrated when Vinicius lost control of the ball. The Benfica supporters also booed emphatically when the name of the Brazilian player was announced in the starting lineup ahead of the match.

The boos gradually lost force as the match went on and Madrid took control of the game.

Last week, a few Benfica fans were seen doing monkey gestures from the stands after the match at the Stadium of Light.

Vinícius also participated in the buildup of what would have been Madrid's second goal in the first half but it was disallowed for offside.

Before Wednesday's match, Madrid fans displayed a banner saying “No To Racism.” A “respect” banner also was shown behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.

Madrid fans also jeered when Benfica central defender Nicolás Otamendi touched the ball. Otamendi, who is also Argentine, was one of the players that confronted Vinícius after the Brazilian's celebration by the Benfica flag.

Also missing for Benfica was coach José Mourinho, the former Madrid coach who sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee. Mourinho did not participate in the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, and was expected to watch the match from the stands at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid said in a statement after the match it “urgently requested” the club's disciplinary committee to open a procedure to expel a fan who was caught by television cameras performing a Nazi salute before the match.

Madrid said the supporter appeared to be part of its organized fan group behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.

“This member was identified by the club’s security staff moments after appearing on the broadcast and was immediately expelled from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium,” the club said. “Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society.”

Madrid defender Raúl Asencio had to be carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for tests after a hard collision with teammate Eduardo Camavinga in the second half.

The central defender hit the ground hard and had to be attended for a few minutes on the field. The medical staff immobilized him before taking him off the field.

Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said Asencio apparently injured his neck but “it wasn't serious.”

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Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates at the end of the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior falls during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, reacts after missing a chance to score during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, and Benfica's Nicolas Otamendi, right, challenge for the ball during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior falls during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior reacts after sustaining an injury during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The murder convictions and life sentence of Alex Murdaugh were overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the court clerk at his trial suggested he was guilty, but the disgraced lawyer won’t be leaving prison any time soon.

Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will be another lengthy trial for the case that because of the combination of money, power, Southern accents and treachery has become a true crime sensation with several streaming miniseries, best selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts.

Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and currently is serving a 40-year federal sentence.

Prosecutors said they would aggressively seek to try Murdaugh again on the murder charges with state Attorney General Alan Wilson saying he respected the court's decision but no one is above the law.

Murdaugh's lawyers pointed out that trial will look a lot different, as the justices also ruled days of evidence at the murder trial about how Murdaugh stole from clients, many of them in dire straits, shouldn't be allowed next time.

Still, the ruling is a win for Murdaugh, who admits to being a thief, liar, insurance cheat and bad lawyer, but has adamantly denied killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.

“Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial,” Murdaugh’s lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a joint statement.

In their unanimous ruling Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court said the conduct by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by suggesting to jurors his testimony could not be trusted.

A few jurors said Hill, assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh's body language when he testified in his own defense and to not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.

“By urging the jurors not to be fooled or convinced by Murdaugh’s defense, Hill essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty, the ultimate issue in the case,” the justices wrote, adding that the comments insinuated there was something unusual and suspicious about his decision to testify.

Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury,” the justices wrote. “Our justice system provides — indeed demands — that every person is entitled to a fair trial."

The court said Hill's motivation was the “siren call of celebrity” and her goal was to increase sales of her book on the trial called “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.

“As her book’s title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was sworn to protect and uphold,” the justices wrote in an unsigned 27-page ruling.

Hill’s attorney in her criminal case didn’t return a phone call or email seeking comment.

Hill has pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the Murdaugh trial, including showing graphic crime scene photos to several media members. The journalists were not named and the photos were not described at her December hearing.

“The court rightly described her conduct as "‘breathtaking,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and ‘unprecedented in South Carolina,'” Murdaugh's lawyers said.

Prosecutors argued that the clerk’s comments were fleeting and the evidence against Murdaugh was overwhelming.

The justices also had a warning for the next judge to try the murder case — be cautious on how much evidence of Murdaugh's thefts from his law firm and clients to allow those jurors to hear.

Some brief evidence of how Mudaugh stole is fine and how it might connect to him killing his wife and son. But the court said details like how some of the people Murdaugh stole from were disabled or vulnerable could unfairly turn against him jurors who should be focused just on whether he killed his family.

Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were starting to unravel when he shot his younger son, Paul, with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, at their home in Colleton County in 2021.

Murdaugh told investigators he hadn’t seen them for an hour or so before he discovered their bodies, but his voice was recorded in a video on his son’s phone made about five minutes before the killing.

The weapons used in the killings have not been found and prosecutors did not present any clothes with DNA or blood evidence.

FILE - Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, listens during a hearing on the motion for a retrial, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C. (Gavin McIntyre/The Post and Courier via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca "Becky" Hill listens during her guilty plea, Dec. 8, 2025, in St. Matthews, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)

FILE - Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C., Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard, File)