Vinicius Jr. he is known as the player who always starts for Real Madrid on big occasions as we have seen over the years. During Real Madrid’s knockout game against Benfica, the Brazilian produced a moment of magic when he scored a wonderful goal that proved to be the difference as Los Blancos secured a 1-0 win. However, he found himself at the center of controversy in Lisbon on Tuesday 18 February, claiming he was racially abused immediately after scoring the goal.
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Vinicius accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him immediately after scoring the winner in the 50th minute, forcing the Brazilian to complain to the referee. Play was stopped for 10 minutes as French referee Francois Letexier activated UEFA’s racism protocol. Vinicius was seen telling an official that he was called ‘mono’, the Spanish word for monkey by Prestianni. A video clip just after the goal shows the Benfica player covering his face while talking to the Real Madrid star, who quickly went to tell the referee.
This happened between Vincius Jr. and Prestianni.
He gave an absolute banger, went to celebrate, got booked and then Argentinian Prestianni got mad and reacted by covering his mouth to racially abuse him. pic.twitter.com/Iv7tcFvAeQ
— 10 (@Kylian) February 17, 2026
WHAT DID VINICIUS SAY?
Vinicius took to social media on his Instagram story, calling Prestianni a coward for covering his mouth when he spoke to him and racially abusing him. It is not the first time the Brazilian forward has faced racial abuse, following incidents in Valencia and during the Madrid derby with Atltico Madrid fans were condemned.
“Racists are first and foremost cowards,” Vinicius wrote on Instagram, noting that Prestianni was covering his mouth with a shirt. “They have to put their shirt over their mouth to show how weak they are.
“But they have on their side the protection of others who are theoretically obliged to punish.
“Nothing that happened today should be tolerated in my life or in the lives of my family.”
“I don’t like to talk in situations like this, but it’s necessary.
HOW DID PRESTIANNI REACT?
The Benfica player maintained his innocence and said it was all a misunderstanding.
“I want to make it clear that at no point did I direct racial slurs at Vincius Jr. There was a misunderstanding about the words he thinks he heard,” he wrote.
Benfica themselves stepped in to defend Prestianni, sharing a video clip showing that the distance between the players was too great for the Real Madrid players to hear clearly.
MOURINHO APOLOGIZES, MBAPPE CALLS FOR BAN
Throughout the controversy, Benfica manager Jose Mourinho was sent off and landed in hot water for comments that many saw as a vindication of Prestianni. The Portuguese tactician said that such incidents only occur in matches in which the Brazilian takes part.
“Something is wrong because it happens in every stadium. The stadium where Vinicius plays, something always happens,” Mourinho said.
Clarence Seedorf criticized Mourinho for the comment, saying it was wrong of him to justify his player at this point.
Kylian Mbappe has fully stood behind Vinicius on the matter and called for a Champions League ban for Prestianni.
“I have the greatest respect for Benfica and their coach, who is one of the best in history and who made history with Real Madrid. But in my opinion, this player does not deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.”
“We cannot accept that a player who plays in Europe’s highest competition behaves like this. This boy does not deserve to play in the Champions League anymore, but we will see what happens.”
“Let’s leave it to UEFA, who always try to do something. Now they have a serious case and I hope they do something.”
UEFA is expected to look into the matter and make a call in the coming days.
– The end
Published on:
February 18, 2026