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Real Madrid have handed UEFA a package of evidence relating to the alleged racial abuse of forward Vinícius Júnior during Tuesday’s Champions League playoff first leg at Benfica, as the governing body’s formal disciplinary investigation gathered momentum two days after one of European football’s most turbulent nights in recent memory.
The Spanish club confirmed Thursday it had provided “all available evidence regarding the incidents that occurred on Tuesday” to UEFA, which on Wednesday appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to examine allegations that Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni directed a racial slur at Vinícius following his goal in the 50th minute of Madrid’s 1-0 victory at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. Real said the club would “continue to work, in collaboration with all institutions, to eradicate racism, violence and hatred in sport and in society.” The nature of the submitted evidence was not disclosed.
The incident, already one of the most widely discussed in this season’s Champions League, unfolded moments after Vinícius scored by curling a shot into the top corner and celebrated near the Benfica corner flag. Home supporters reacted with hostility, throwing bottles and other objects onto the pitch toward Madrid players. Prestianni then confronted Vinícius and said something while covering his mouth with his jersey. What precisely was said remains the central and contested question of the entire affair. Cameras picked up Vinícius telling French referee François Letexier that Prestianni had called him “monkey.” Letexier immediately activated FIFA’s anti-racism protocol, crossing his arms in front of his face — the designated signal — and halted the match. Vinícius walked to the dugout while his teammates surrounded him. Play did not resume for ten minutes.
Vinícius, 25, has been the subject of a prolonged pattern of racist abuse since his arrival in European football. Eighteen legal complaints have been filed regarding racist behaviour targeting him since 2022 alone. The latest allegation was met with immediate solidarity from within his club. Kylian Mbappé told reporters after the game that he had heard Prestianni use the same term repeatedly. “He pulled his jersey up to here to say that Vini is a monkey five times. I heard it. There are Benfica players that also heard it,” Mbappé said. Midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni made an identical allegation. Mbappé added that Prestianni “shouldn’t keep playing in the competition.”
Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, the England international signed by Madrid from Liverpool in January, was unequivocal. He described the incident as “a disgrace to football” and called on UEFA to act. FIFA president Gianni Infantino also weighed in, saying he was “shocked and saddened” and that “there is absolutely no room for racism in our sport and in society.”
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Prestianni denied the allegation entirely. The 20-year-old Argentine posted a statement on social media saying he had “never been racist with anyone” and that Vinícius had “regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.” He did not explain why he had covered his mouth while speaking to the Brazilian. Benfica issued a statement of their own, saying the club “fully supports and believes in the version presented by the player” and characterising what it called a “defamation campaign” against Prestianni. The club posted footage of the incident on social media in support of that position.
The response of Benfica manager José Mourinho drew separate and pointed criticism. The Portuguese coach, a former Real Madrid manager himself, was sent off in the 86th minute for protesting the referee’s decisions. After the match, he acknowledged having spoken to both players and said he could not take sides, but his suggestion that Vinícius was somehow implicated in the frequency with which abuse is directed at him provoked a swift response. Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out said that Mourinho’s comments constituted “a form of gaslighting,” adding: “When anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported. Focusing on Vinicius Jr.’s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.” Former Benfica captain Luisão was among those within the Portuguese football community who publicly criticised his own club’s handling of the situation.
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Vinícius posted on Instagram after the match. “Racists are, above all, cowards,” he wrote. “They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how weak they are. But they have, on their side, the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish. Nothing that happened here today was new in my life and my family’s life.”
UEFA’s investigation is not confined to the exchange between the two players. The governing body is separately examining objects thrown from the Benfica home end, one of which struck Vinícius while he was preparing to take a corner kick in the closing minutes of the match. Several online videos circulating on Wednesday appeared to show Benfica supporters in the stands making monkey gestures during the game, though neither UEFA nor the clubs have addressed that footage in official statements.
If found guilty of racial abuse under UEFA’s disciplinary code, Prestianni faces a minimum ten-match ban under Article 14, which governs discriminatory behaviour in UEFA competitions. The governing body said further information would be made available in due course but did not indicate a timeline for concluding the investigation.
Mourinho’s red card carries an automatic one-match suspension, meaning he will be absent from the dugout for the second leg at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, February 25. Benfica travel to Madrid needing to overturn a one-goal deficit to progress to the round of sixteen. The outcome of the UEFA disciplinary process, and whether Prestianni will be available for that match, had not been determined as of Thursday.
