UEFA has provisionally suspended Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni for one match after he allegedly made a racist comment to Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.
UEFA have opened an investigation into allegations of “discriminatory behaviour” during Real’s Champions League knockout play-off first leg and, upon the request of UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector, Prestianni will miss the second leg while the investigation is ongoing.
Vinicius Jr initially refused to continue last Tuesday after the incident with Prestianni, who has denied the allegations.
The Real forward had just given his side the lead – after which he celebrated in front of the Benfica fans, for which he was booked – when he was confronted by Prestianni, who pulled his shirt up over his mouth before saying something to the Madrid forward.
Vinicius Jr ran to speak to match referee Francois Letexier, who immediately stopped the game. The referee responded by crossing his arms in front of his face, activating FIFA’s anti-racism protocol and temporarily stopping the match.
Mourinho to avoid media before second leg
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Jose Mourinho will not speak to the media ahead of Benfica’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid after he was criticised for his response to the alleged racist abuse of Vinicius Junior last week
Sky Sports News understands Benfica manager Jose Mourinho will not speak to the media before Wednesday’s second leg, with his assistant Joao Tralhao carrying out his media duties instead.
Mourinho was sent off during the game after being shown two yellow cards, meaning he did not have to speak to the media afterwards and is suspended for the return leg at the Bernabeu, where his side will need to overturn a 1-0 deficit to stay in the competition.
UEFA’s Champions League regulations state that a manager who is suspended does not have to speak to the media the day before the game.
Mourinho has been widely criticised for appearing to defend his player and club by questioning the way Vinicius celebrates goals in his post-match press conference in Lisbon.
“I told him, when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent,” Mourinho told Amazon Prime following the first leg.
“When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person [Eusebio] in the history of this club was black.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist.”
Mourinho then appeared to comment on previous incidents in which Vinicius Jr has been subject to racist abuse in stadiums.
The Brazilian has spoken out multiple times against racism he has been subject to inside stadiums. In June 2024, three Valencia fans were jailed for eight months for racially abusing him during a LaLiga game the previous year, in the first verdict of its kind in Spain.
“There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,” said Mourinho. “A stadium where Vinicius plays something happens, always.”
Mourinho was seen speaking to a visibly upset Vinicius Jr and a member of the Benfica coaching staff was shown a red card during the lengthy stoppage. After a number of discussions between players, coaches and the referee, play then resumed.
Real Madrid held on to win but there was a further short delay late in stoppage time when fans threw objects as Vinicius Jr was attempting to take a corner kick.
Vinicius: Racists are cowards
Posting after the game in Portuguese on his Instagram story, Vinicius Jr wrote: “Racists are, above all, cowards.
“They need to put their shirts over their mouths to demonstrate how weak they are.
“But they have, on their side, the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish. Nothing that happened here today was new in my life and my family’s.
“I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.
“I don’t like appearing in situations like this, even more so after a great victory and when the headlines have to be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Vinicius Jr spoke to referee Francois Letexier after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni appeared to make a comment towards him
In a statement in Portuguese on Instagram, shared by Benfica on social media, Prestianni denied making racist comments.
He wrote: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.
“I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
Benfica posted footage of the incident on X, with the comment: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Mbappe explains what he heard
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe said in an interview after the game that he heard Prestianni racially abuse his team-mate and said the Benfica winger should not be allowed to play in the Champions League.
“I know everything,” the France international said after the game. “I will explain everything that happened.
“Vinicius scored a goal – an amazing goal. He goes to dance and the people boo him. That’s something that happens in football. After that, there’s a moment of tension with the Benfica players. It’s better if it doesn’t happen, but this can happen too.
“It’s the Champions League, the best competition in the world for clubs. So, it’s normal that people want to win, to give their best for their club and their fans and defend their colours.
“After that, Benfica’s No 25 – I don’t want to say his name because he doesn’t deserve it – starts to talk badly. You don’t accept it but, again, it happens in football and it will continue to happen.
“He put his shirt here [over his mouth] to say Vinicius is a ****** five times. I heard it. There are Benfica players who heard it as well. And after that point, everything you have seen started.
“I want to try and explain it calmly. I don’t want to speak in a general manner. I have come to Portugal many times. I have been lucky to have many team-mates and friends from Portugal, and nothing has ever happened to me.
“With these kind of things, it’s very important to speak in a very clear way, and to not speak in general, because there are people who haven’t done anything wrong. In the stadium, I think there are 70,000 people who haven’t done anything wrong. They just wanted to support their team.
“I have the maximum respect for Benfica and their manager, who is one of the best in history, who has made history at Real Madrid.
“But this player, for me, doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.
“It’s a wonderful thing to play in the Champions League. The best competition. Everyone here, all the journalists, loves the Champions League, no? It inspires me as a player, it inspires the people, it inspires children, and we have to give the best possible example to young people.
“If we let this kind of thing happen, I think all the values of football are worthless, all that we believe is worthless. We have to do something.”
Vinicius’ history with incidents of racism
Vinicius Jr has spoken out previously about repeated racist abuse he has suffered, saying in 2024 that he felt “less and less” like playing football because of the abuse.
In that same year, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for racially abusing him at a match in May 2023 – in scenes reminiscent of those in Benfica, as the game was also stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius Jr alerted the referee to fans he felt had abused him.
After the game, the Brazilian said LaLiga “belongs to racism”. But LaLiga president Javier Tebas responded that Vinicius had been “manipulated” in calling out the abuse. Tebas later apologised for those comments.
The three supporters from the Valencia incident were also fined €5,000 and banned from sporting venues for one year for making racist gestures. Valencia were fined €27,000 and had their stadium partially closed for three matches.
Since then, Spain has been punishing supporters for racist abuse towards Vinicius Jr. Four people were convicted for hanging an effigy with his name on it off a highway bridge in Madrid earlier in 2023.
Three of them were sentenced to seven months in prison for hate crimes and threats, while the other was sentenced to 15 months in prison for sharing the images online.
All four had to take an anti-discrimination training programme to have those sentences suspended, while they were also fined €60,000 and banned from sports venues for two years.
And just last year, five Real Valladolid fans were found guilty for racially abusing Vinicius Jr during a match in 2022. They faced one year in prison and were fined up to €1,620 – but again the prison sentences were suspended as long as they did not attend a football match for three years.
