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2 min readUpdated: Feb 22, 2026 03:52 PM IST
Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni fights for the ball against Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during a Champions League playoff soccer match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Rocha)
The alleged racism controversy against Vinicius Jr in the Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid has taken a new turn.
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Gianluca Prestianni, who was accused to hurling racial slurs towards Vinicius, has already given evidence in UEFA’s investigation into the matter.
As reported by ESPN, the Argentinian, 20, has given evidence stating that he called Vinicius the anti-gay slur “m——” in Spanish, rather than “mono,” which is Spanish for monkey.
European football’s governing body is holding an inquiry into the incident during the second half at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, in a flashpoint after Vinícius scored the game’s only goal.
The Madrid forward accused Prestianni of racially abusing him while covering his face with his shirt, leading to a 10-minute stoppage before play continued.
Madrid players apart from Vinicius were furious with star forward Kylian Mbappe refusing to come on the pitch while midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni constantly telling officials of what he heard.
Immediately after the game, the Madrid midfielder told Spanish television that Prestianni had given that explanation when confronted about the incident.
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Madrid have sent a dossier of “all available evidence” to UEFA as part of the probe.
Mbappe was furious in the post match interactions and mentioned that he personally had heard Prestianni racially abuse Vinicius five times.
“I heard it,” Mbappé said. “There are Benfica players that also heard it.”
Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa called for Prestianni to face punishment in a news conference Friday, saying he hoped the case could be a “turning point” in the fight against racist abuse in soccer.
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Article 14 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations states that the punishment framework for both racist and anti-gay abuse is the same.
“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 ten matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction,” the regulations say.
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