What Next for Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid After Shameful Night in Lisbon
“The headlines should be about Real Madrid,” Vinicius Junior wrote on social media, the sense of weary fury radiating out of his powerful post, “but it’s necessary.”
Tuesday night’s 1–0 win against Benfica was decided by the Brazilian star’s stunning goal and shamefully defined by the alleged racist abuse he suffered from Gianluca Prestianni, who denies the accusation. There’s plenty to unpick from an evening which has become far too familiar for Vinicius Jr but what lies ahead could be even more important.
UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, has the chance to use this “disgrace to the sport” as a turning point. Yet, if past precedent is anything to go by, there are more grim nights ahead.
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Timeline of Events
We should be talking about Vinícius Júnior's incredible goal tonight. pic.twitter.com/Jz96hdQr1C
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) February 17, 2026
- It was quickly forgotten but these sorry scenes began with Vinicius Jr scoring a spectacular goal. After watching Kylian Mbappé spurn a glut of first-half chances, Real Madrid’s No. 7 stuffed a ripsnorter into the top corner, becoming the second highest scoring Brazilian in Champions League history.
- To celebrate his screamer, Vinicius Jr simply shimmied around the corner flag, akin to World Cup icon Roger Milla. Benfica manager José Mourinho would subsequently blame the Brazilian for inciting the reaction, bizarrely asking: “Why didn’t he celebrate like Eusebio, Pelé, or [Alfredo] Di Stéfano?”
- Benfica center back Nicolás Otamendi was the first to take issue with Vinicius Jr. The goalscorer brushed off the Argentine defender to flag up the name on the back of his shirt and stretch his arms out wide, which prompted Prestianni to charge over. Incredibly, it was at this point that the referee François Letexier booked Vinicius Jr. “I still don’t understand why,” the winger would later admit.
- As the players lined up at the halfway line to restart the match, Prestianni made a grand show of covering his mouth to say something to Vinicius Jr, who immediately steamed over to the referee.
- Letexier made the crossed arms gesture to signal that racist abuse had been reported.
- Vinicius Jr made a beeline towards the Real Madrid dugout, where he took a seat on the bench as both technical areas emptied onto the pitch. Mourinho had a word with the Brazilian, as did his manager Álvaro Arbeloa and it took eight minutes for the game to restart.
Benfica, Mourinho, Prestianni Go on the Defense
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
Prestianni was quick to take to social media to defend himself. “I want to clarify that at no point did I direct racist insults at the player Vinicius Junior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he heard,” the Argentine winger wrote. “I have never been racist towards anyone, and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
Mbappé backed Vinicius Jr’s claim that Prestianni had used the word “mono”—which translates to monkey—after the match. “[Prestianni] called Vinicius a monkey five times, I saw it,” the French striker told reporters in the mixed zone. “I cannot let things like this go. He’s a young player, how can you say things like that on a football pitch?”
Benfica have firmly stood by their player. “Together, by your side,” the club’s official social media account posted alongside Prestianni’s statement. The historic Portuguese giants then took the intriguing step of posting an alternative angle of the confrontation which supposedly disproved Mbappé’s claim: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Aurélien Tchouaméni relayed Prestianni’s flimsy counter-argument. “Vini told us the kid called him a monkey. He said he didn’t say anything, that he said... I don’t know, ‘f------’ or whatever. Vini told us we had to keep playing. I don’t know what to say now, we’ll talk, but this can’t happen.”
Mourinho claimed that he was “an independent” yet still presented some warped logic to defend his player and club. “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back,” he noted post-match. “When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusébio] was black.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.”
What Next?
UEFA revealed that they are “reviewing” all the documents filed by the match officials. “Where matters are reported, proceedings are opened and, should they lead to disciplinary sanctions being imposed, they are announced on the UEFA disciplinary website,” as quoted by BBC Sport.
“We have no further information to provide you or any further comment to make on this matter at this stage.”
Article 14 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations are clear: “Any entity or person subject to these regulations who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction.”
UEFA are empowered to also punish Benfica as an establishment.
“If the circumstances of the case require it, the competent disciplinary body may impose any other additional appropriate disciplinary measures on the member association or club responsible, such as the playing of one or more matches behind closed doors, a stadium closure, the forfeiting of a match, the deduction of points and/or disqualification from the competition.”
However, proving that Prestianni said what Vinicius Jr claimed will be difficult, considering he covered his mouth and has relayed a different set of events.
Mbappé had an idea of what to do. “I have the utmost respect for Benfica and their coach, who is one of the best in history and who made history with Real Madrid. But, in my opinion, this player doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” he eloquently outlined to assembled media.
“We cannot accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like this. This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore, but we’ll see what happens.
“Let’s leave it to UEFA, who always try to do something. Now they have a serious case, and I hope they do something.”
Past Precedent
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Mbappé reflected, aghast. However, he was involved in a similarly unsettling incident half a decade ago.
Istanbul Basaksehir’s assistant coach, Pierre Webo, claimed that assistant referee Sebastian Coltescu had referred to him as “the black one” 13 minutes into a Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain in December 2020. Both sets of players left the pitch in protest and the match was staged the following day with a new set of officials.
Three months later, UEFA suspended Webo for the final few months of the season after finding that he had not respected the laws of the game and failed to comply with “the principles of ethical conduct, loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship.” However, Coltescu was not specifically found guilty of racial discrimination and instead ordered to “attend an educational programme.”
It remains to be seen what, if any, punishment is dolled out to Prestianni and Benfica, but the likelihood is that it will be several weeks and months before anything concrete happens.
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