Prestianni denies he racially abused ViniciusImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Real Madrid and Benfica meet for the second leg on 25 February ByHarry PooleBBC Sport journalistPublished18 February 2026, 00:56 GMTUpdated 6 hours agoReal Madrid winger Vinicius Junior stated “racists are cowards” as Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni denied racially abusing the Brazilian. Uefa has launched an official investigation after Vinicius, 25, stated alleged racist abuse by Prestianni during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win against Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday.
The Champions League match was halted for 10 minutes by referee Francois Letexier, with both sets of players leaving the pitch shortly after Vinicius had given his side the lead.
The forward, who has been the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career, stated in a post on Instagram: “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.”
Prestianni, 20, denied directing racial abuse to Vinicius in a post on his social media.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” stated Prestianni.
“I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
In a post on their official X account, alongside a video of the alleged incident, Benfica defended Prestianni.
“As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard,” was the Portuguese club’s message.
