Benfica have refuted claims from Real Madrid that ‘multiple players’ heard winger Gianluca Prestianni racially abuse Vinicius Junior.
Real Madrid’s 1-0 win at Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday night has been overshadowed by an incident involving Prestianni and Vinicius.
The latter scored the only goal of the game in Lisbon and was booked for his celebration. Shortly after, Vinicius told the referee that he had been subject to racist abuse from Prestianni. The match was then stopped as part of UEFA’s racism protocols.
Prestianni, who covered his mouth when speaking to Vinicius, has denied the claims and said the Real Madrid winger ‘regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.”
Vinicius has branded the Benfica player a ‘coward’. On Instagram, he wrote: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.
“But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.
“I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Kylian Mbappe is among the Real Madrid teammates to have backed Vinicius, though Benfica have refuted the claims.
In a controversial social media post, the Portuguese side wrote: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Como demonstram as imagens, dada a distância, os jogadores do Real Madrid não podem ter ouvido o que andam a dizer que ouviram. pic.twitter.com/7JF9AVuhEM
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) February 18, 2026
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