Vinícius Junior, Real Madrid's Brazilian forward, said that "racists are cowards" and regretted receiving a yellow card "for celebrating a goal." Vinicius, who gave Real Madrid a 1-0 victory against Benfica in the Champions League, denounced that Argentine Gianluca Prestianni called him a "monkey" five times while covering his mouth with his shirt. Frenchman Kylian Mbappé asked UEFA for the toughest sanction for Prestianni.
First modification: 02/18/2026 - 04:12 Last modification: 02/18/2026 - 04:18
Vinicius Jr. scored the winning goal in the second half and Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 on Tuesday, February 17, in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs, a night overshadowed by the Brazilian's accusations of using a racist insult to Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni.
The alleged incident occurred moments after Vinicius put Real Madrid ahead five minutes into the second half at the Estadio da Luz, before referee Francois Letexier stopped the match for 11 minutes in accordance with FIFA's anti-racism protocol.
Television footage showed the Argentine winger covering his mouth with his shirt before making a comment that Vinicius and close teammates interpreted as a racial insult against the 25-year-old player, who has repeatedly suffered racism in Spain during matches.
"I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults against the player Vinicius, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thinks he heard," the Argentine player later said online.
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The atmosphere turned hostile after the match resumed, with Benfica coach José Mourinho sent off in the 85th minute after two bookings as Real secured a slim lead to take them back to Madrid for the second leg.
"It is incredible that there are dozens of cameras in the stadium, none of them have been able to capture the racist insult (from Prestianni), but if you cover your mouth to say something, that says a lot," Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde told Movistar Plus.
"According to my close colleagues, they heard something very ugly. Many people have fought against racism in football, and Vinicius is one of them. I am proud of him and his great game."
Benfica started attacking, but the visitors gradually took control while the hosts seemed content to counter-attack, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making an impressive one-handed save to deny Fredrik Aursnes' shot in the 25th minute.
Real Madrid finished the first half strongly and only the brilliance of goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin kept the score goalless at half-time, making impressive saves to deny goals to Kylian Mbappé and Arda Guler.
Unstoppable shot
The goal came five minutes after the restart. Mbappé went on the attack and assisted Vinicius on the left. The Brazilian cut diagonally towards the area, moved inside and launched a shot with an unstoppable effect that slipped into the top corner.
Vinicius celebrated by dancing with the corner flag and was reprimanded by Letexier for excessive celebration.
While the striker was arguing with the referee, he became involved in a heated exchange with Prestianni, and Vinicius and several teammates suddenly ran towards the referee.
Letexier crossed his arms to activate the FIFA protocol and stopped the match. Real Madrid players threatened to leave the field in the face of growing tension, before play finally resumed 11 minutes later.
The crowd became frustrated, Vinicius was loudly booed every time he touched the ball and the broadcast camera appeared to show an outraged Mbappé calling Prestianni "a fucking racist" to his face several times after play resumed.
Tempers flared again in the 85th minute when Vinicius fouled Richard Ríos. Mourinho attacked the fourth referee demanding a second warning for the Brazilian, but he himself was cautioned for his protests.
An outraged Mourinho continued to protest and quickly received a second yellow card.
Mourinho told Movistar Plus that he had spoken with both Vinicius and Prestianni.
"Vinicius says one thing and Prestianni another. I don't want to be partial... and I don't want to say that I am 100% in favor of Prestianni; but I cannot be impartial and say that what Vinicius has told me is the truth. I can't, I don't know," declared the former Real Madrid coach.
"Vinicius scored a goal that only he or Mbappé could score. Afterwards, he should have celebrated with his teammates instead of facing 60,000 people in this stadium. That's all I'm saying," he said.
With Reuters and EFE
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