Vinicius Junior Accuses Gianluca Prestianni of Racial Abuse as Real Madrid Beats Benfica by 10 UEFA Champions League 2026 (Image Source: X)
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.
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).
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.
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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