Real Madrid secured a vital 1-0 win against Benfica at the Estádio da Luz on February 17, 2026; however, the triumph was almost entirely eclipsed by a massive racial abuse fiasco that involved Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian, who netted a superb goal in the 50th minute to give the Royal Whites a first-leg lead in the Champions League playoff, being the very first, accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of a racial insult during his goal celebration.
Ten-Minute Delay And Activation Of UEFA Protocol
The match reached breaking point when Vinicius scored a top-class goal after curling a beautiful strike into the top corner.
However, as he was celebrating the goal, there was an exchange of words with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, who had been seen covering his mouth with his jersey while speaking. Vinicius instantly reacted by pointing at Prestianni and telling the referee what happened, that he was called “mono” (monkey).
🚨 Kylian Mbappé: “Prestianni clearly called Vini Jr a monkey, it happened five times”.
“I saw that. UEFA have the best cameras, now we wait. This is not acceptable. It’s not my kind of human being”. pic.twitter.com/XsXCxDRpoW
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 17, 2026
The two teams’ coaching staff members clashed on the touchline amid the confusion, resulting in a Real Madrid backroom official being shown a red card. The referee, in a historic move, used the entire three-step anti-racism protocol.
Play was stopped for almost 11 minutes while stadium announcements urged the crowd not to engage in any kind of discrimination, and the players also left the field.
🚨 BREAKING: Gianluca Prestianni statement after Vini Jr case.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard”.
“I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real… pic.twitter.com/6y60hNu7bO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2026
Benfica vs Real Madrid: Jose Mourinho Sent To Stands
The closing moments of the game were characterised by high tension and an onslaught of missiles coming from the home fans’ section, one of which hit Vinicius as he was getting ready for a corner kick.
Benfica’s anger finally found an outlet in the 86th minute when their boss, Jose Mourinho, received two yellow cards back-to-back due to his excessive protests against the referee. As a consequence, he will be absent from the next game in Madrid.
The matter has thus been escalated to UEFA’s disciplinary committee, deeply tainting what ought to have been a night of great football entertainment.
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