Benfica has denied accusations from Real Madrid that multiple players overheard winger Gianluca Prestianni racially abuse Vinicius Junior.
Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday was clouded by an incident involving Prestianni and Vinicius.
Vinicius scored the game’s only goal in Lisbon and received a yellow card for his celebration. Shortly after, he informed the referee that Prestianni had racially abused him, leading to a pause in the match due to UEFA’s anti-racism protocols.
Prestianni, who covered his mouth while speaking to Vinicius, has denied the allegations, stating that Vinicius “regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.”
Vinicius labeled the Benfica player a “coward.” On Instagram, he said: “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, should punish them. Nothing that happened today is new to me or my teammates.
“I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal, which I still don’t understand. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I dislike being in situations like this, especially after a great win when the focus should be on Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Kylian Mbappe is one of Vinicius’s teammates from Real Madrid who has shown support for him, even as Benfica denied the claims.
In a social media post, Benfica stated: “As the images demonstrate, the distance means that 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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