UEFA has announced an official investigation into allegations that Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica.
Gianluca Prestiani allegedly racially abused Vinicius Junior (Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestiani is set to be interviewed after UEFA launched a full-scale investigation into him. And the Argentina international could face a 10-match ban if he is found guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.
UEFA took swift action, appointing inspectors to investigate the shocking scenes during Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off match against Benfica. The match was stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to referee François Letexier that Prestiani had used a racial slur.
Prestiani covered his mouth with his shirt, spoke and Vinicius left the pitch amid chaos in Lisbon. The Brazilian star was said to have been called a “monkey” after celebrating a goal.
UEFA’s investigation will also interview Vinicius, his team-mates – including Kylian Mbappe, who said he heard the comments – and all players who were in the vicinity of the incident. These remain cases that are difficult to prove. However, the investigation is almost certain to take at least two weeks, so the players will face each other in the second leg in Madrid next week.
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read more: Furious Rio Ferdinand slams Jose Mourinho over Vinicius Junior’s comments: ‘Crazy’read more: Benfica player breaks his silence after being accused of racism against Vinicius Junior, club releases unreleased footage
There is precedent in a previous similar high-profile incident, when Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela was suspended for 10 games for racially assaulting Rangers star Glen Kamara in the Europa League draw. Kudela initially appealed but later dropped the case, and Kamara was later suspended for allegedly assaulting a Slavia Prague player in the tunnel.
UEFA investigations often take a long time to get started, but clearly this incident was so high-profile that it attracted so much attention that European football’s governing body acted quickly.
“Racists are cowards above all else. They need to stick their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But in theory they have the protection of others who are obliged to punish them. What happened today is nothing new in my life or in the life of my team.
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Vinicius Junior immediately reported Gianluca Prestianni’s alleged comments (Image: X/@SLBenfica)
“I got a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t know why. On the other hand, it didn’t help anything, it was just a lack of procedure.”
Prestiani, 20, denied racially abusing Vinicius Jr. in his social media posts. “Let me be clear: I never directly directed any racist insults at Vini Jr. He unfortunately misunderstood what he thought he heard,” he said.
UEFA said in a statement: “The UEFA Ethics and Discipline Inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of discriminatory behavior during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 knockout play-off between Club Benfica and Real Madrid CF, to be held on 17 February 2026. Further information on this matter will be announced in due course.”
Meanwhile, Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has suggested that Vinicius Junior incited the disturbance with his celebrations, and will face a red card and suspension for next week’s return match. However, Mourinho will be allowed inside the stadium, but not on the touchline.
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