Nyon, February 18 – The European football governing body, UEFA, has ordered an investigation into claims that Real Madrid’s star player, Vinicius Junior, was subjected to racial abuse by Gianluca Prestianni during the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 playoffs against Benfica, which took place on February 17.
The incident occurred when Vinicius was given a yellow card by the referee for an exuberant celebration after scoring a goal against Benfica. During the celebration, Prestianni confronted him, pulling his shirt up over his mouth before saying something that Vinicius felt was abusive.
Vinicius then spoke to referee Francois Letexier, who stopped the match for ten minutes and followed UEFA’s protocol for dealing with allegations of racial abuse from a player.
The governing body confirmed on Tuesday that the review of the match is underway, and if Prestianni is found guilty, he will face disciplinary sanctions.
"The official reports from the matches played last night are currently being reviewed," said UEFA.
"When issues are reported, proceedings are opened, and if they lead to the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, they are announced on the UEFA disciplinary website. We have no further information to provide you or any other comment to make on this matter at this stage," the governing body added.
After the match, Vinicius posted a photo on Instagram of himself celebrating by the Benfica corner flag.
He wrote, “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. Nothing that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family’s life. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t know why.”
Speaking about the match, Benfica could not capitalize on their opportunities as they lost to Real Madrid 1-0, denting their chances of moving to the next round of the tournament.
