The first leg of the Champions League play-off between Benfica Lisbon and Real Madrid was interrupted for around ten minutes on Tuesday in Lisbon after Brazilian player Vinicius Junior complained about being called a "monkey" by Argentinian Gianluca Prestianni.
Published on: 02/18/2026 - 10:09 Modified on: 02/18/2026 - 14:02
New controversy over racism in football... and of which the player Vinicius Junior is still the target. The Brazilian striker from Real Madrid complained of being called a "monkey" by Argentinian Gianluca Prestianni on Tuesday February 17 during the first leg of the Champions League play-off between Benfica Lisbon and Real Madrid. The meeting was interrupted for around ten minutes.
“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their jerseys in front of their mouths to show how weak they are,” denounced Vinicius on Instagram after the match.
"I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why. On the other hand, it is simply a poorly executed protocol which served no purpose," he continued, referring to the reaction of French referee François Letexier.
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After opening the scoring with a superb strike from the right (50th), the Real striker upset the crowd at the Luz stadium, triggering a discussion with several Benfica players which earned him a warning from the referee.
As the match appeared to be about to resume, the Brazilian ran towards the referee pointing at Prestianni, appearing to tell the referee that he had been called a monkey ("mono" in Spanish) by the Argentina international.
“He called him a monkey five times, I heard it,” Kylian Mbappé is indignant
François Letexier then interrupted the game for almost ten minutes, before deciding to restart it without further sanction.
"It's unacceptable. Vini told us that the guy called him a monkey by hiding with his jersey, before saying that no, he hadn't said anything. We wanted to leave the field, but in the end we spoke with the team, and Vini told us that we had to resume the match", reacted French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni on Movistar+.
For Kylian Mbappé, Prestianni should no longer have the right to play in the Champions League: "He called him a monkey five times, I heard it, and Benfica players too. (...) We cannot accept that a player who participates in the best football competition in Europe behaves like this. In my opinion, he no longer deserves to have this chance", declared in Spanish the captain of the France team.
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“UEFA is trying to make things happen, but this is a serious case and I hope that decisions will be taken calmly,” he hoped.
“You have to ask the Benfica player what he said to Vinicius (...) We have zero tolerance regarding racism. We cannot allow this kind of thing to happen on a pitch in 2026,” added Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa at a press conference.
With AFP
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