Real Madrid’s Vinicius to have alleged racist abuse investigated by UEFA

Al Jazeera · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior alleges racist abuse against Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in the UEFA Champions League.By AFPPublished On 18 Feb 2026UEFA will “investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour” after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match in Lisbon.Tuesday’s first leg of the knockout phase playoff tie was stopped for more than 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to French referee Francois Letexier about the alleged abuse following a confrontation between him and Prestianni.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom gold to break 8-year Olympic droughtlist 2 of 4Farhan leads Pakistan into T20 World Cup Super Eights as Namibia crumblelist 3 of 4Safety concerns resurface after Vonn’s skis didn’t release in Olympic crashlist 4 of 4Russian, Belarusian athletes to compete under own flag at Paralympics 2026end of listThat came just moments after Brazil international Vinicius scored the only goal in a 1-0 win before picking up a yellow card after celebrating in front of the home crowd at the Estadio da Luz.UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, confirmed its investigation on Wednesday.After arguing with Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to the referee and told him that he had been called “mono”, the Spanish word for monkey, by the Argentinian midfielder.The 20-year-old Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt as he appeared to say something to Vinicius, denies racially abusing the Real Madrid star.Real’s England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident had left a sour taste in the mouth.“It’s disgusting. What’s happened tonight is a disgrace for football. It’s ruined the night for the team,” he said.Real forward Kylian Mbappe called on Prestianni to be banned.“We cannot accept there’s a player playing in Europe’s best competition and behaving like this,” the France captain told reporters.“This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League again.”Benfica coach Jose Mourinho hit out at Vinicius for inciting Benfica’s players and fans with his celebration.“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” said the Portuguese.British football anti-discrimination body Kick It Out criticised Mourinho’s reaction and accused him of “gaslighting”.“When anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported,” it said in a statement.“Focusing on Vinicius Jr’s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.“This approach not only harms the individual affected but also sends the wrong message to others around the world who may have experienced similar situations.”