The lights on Rio de Janeiro's iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer were switched off for an hour on Monday night in a display of solidarity with Vinicius Jr after the Brazil forward was racially abused during a club match in Spain.

The lights were turned off at 6pm local time to cap a day when the Brazilian government and the world of football united to condemn the racial slurs aimed at the Real Madrid player during a Spanish league match on Sunday.