Champions League match stopped as Real Madrid star alleges racial abuse

Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior says Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him in Champions League matchTopic:UEFA Champions League10m ago10 minutes agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 12:35amVinícius Júnior claimed the Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him after he scored for Real Madrid. (Getty Images: Valter Gouveia)In short:Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during their Champions League tie.The game was stopped for 10 minutes as Real Madrid players threatened to walk off the pitch in protest.Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said Vinícius incited his players and fans with the way he celebrated a goal.abc.net.au/news/champions-league-racism-vinicius-junior-real-madrid-benfica/106357730Link copiedShareShare articleA Champions League game was halted for almost 10 minutes after Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior accused a Benfica player of racially abusing him.Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold called the incident "a disgrace to football", while Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said Vinícius had incited his players and fans by the way he celebrated his goal in the 1-0 win for Madrid.Vinícius had just curled in a shot into the top corner when French referee François Letexier had to stop the match in the 52nd minute, making a signal with his arms to show that an accusation of racism had been made.Benfica fans threw bottles and other objects towards Madrid players in response to Vinícius celebrating his goal by dancing near the corner flag.Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni then confronted Vinícius and said something while covering his mouth with his jersey.The Brazilian forward then pointed to his Argentine opponent and ran toward the referee.Cameras picked up Vinícius telling Letexier that Prestianni called him "monkey".Kylian Mbappe said Prestianni should never play in the Champions League again. (Getty Images: Eric Verhoeven)After the match, Vinícius posted a photo on Instagram of him celebrating next to 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."The referee immediately stopped the match when Vinícius — who has been repeatedly subjected to racist abuse in Spain — made the complaint.He went to the sideline and sat in the dugout during the stoppage and some of his teammates also started to walk toward the sideline.Mbappé and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni said the team considered leaving the field but eventually decided to continue playing. Mbappé said he asked Vinícius to see what he wanted to do.Loading Twitter content"What's happened tonight is a disgrace to football," Alexander-Arnold said after the game."It's overshadowed the performance, especially after such an amazing goal. Vini has been subjected to this a few times throughout his career, and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a disgrace."There's no place for it in football or society. It's disgusting."The 20-year-old Prestianni just looked on from afar as Vinícius talked to the referee."The players who were near said that [Prestianni] said something ugly that shouldn't be said," Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde said."If you cover your mouth to say something it's because you are saying something that is not nice. I'm proud of my teammates who defended Vini, and of Vini."Benfica players said Prestianni told them that he provoked Vinícius but never used any racist insult."I asked him and he said it was a normal provocation between players during a match," Benfica midfielder Leandro Barreiro said. "He said it was nothing racist."Both coaches, Benfica's Mourinho and Madrid's Álvaro Arbeloa, talked to Vinícius near the benches.Mourinho said he did not want to say he believed one player over the other after talking to both, but criticised Vinícius for celebrating near the fans.Vinícius and Jose Mourinho clashed on the touchline after the incident. (Getty Images: Octavio Passos)"Unfortunately he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal," Mourinho said."When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way."There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. The stadium where Vinicius played something happened. Always."The referee appeared to show that he did not hear anything and gestured that Prestianni had the shirt over his mouth.The Argentine player was not shown a yellow card and continued playing. He was substituted in the 81st minute and was applauded by Benfica fans.The game restarted in the 60th and Vinícius was jeered loudly by the home crowd during the rest of the match.Loading Twitter contentHe was hit by the bottle in the final minutes while near the sidelines in front of Benfica fans. The referee asked for an