Gianluca Prestianni has defended himself after being accused of racism by Vinicius Junior, while a Benfica fan has been caught racially abusing Real Madrid players during the Champions League clash.
Vinicius Junior was allegedly racially abused not only by Gianluca Prestianni but also by sections of the crowd during Real Madrid’s Champions League match against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Tuesday. The involvement of at least one fan in racially abusing Brazilian football star Vinicius came to light after a video of the incident went viral.
In the purported video, a young Benfica fan could be seen making ‘monkey gestures’ towards Real Madrid players during the match.
Benfica fan racially abuses Real Madrid players
While Vinicius cannot be seen in the video, the fan is sitting just behind the Benfica goal, and it appears that he is directing the racist gesture towards The Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2024 or his Real teammates.
SHAMEFUL SCENES FROM THE BENFICA CROWD ❌🚨
More videos have surfaced showing sections of the Benfica fanbase directing racist gestures toward Vinícius Jr during the match, adding to an already heated night. 🗣️⚽️#ViniciusJr #Benfica #RealMadrid #Football #StopRacism pic.twitter.com/PVQBBAeIbF
— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) February 18, 2026
Meanwhile, Prestianni, who has been accused of racially abusing Vinicius during Real’s 1-0 win in the playoff match first leg, has defended himself in an Instagram post. The Argentine footballer claimed that he did not use any racist language towards Vinicius.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” Prestianni said on his Instagram account. “I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
Mourinho criticised for justifying racism
Prestianni’s coach and legendary manager, Jose Mourinho, is also facing accusations of
justifying the racism against Vinicius as he questioned the Real Madrid player’s celebration after scoring the only goal of the match.
“I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black,” Mourinho said after the match.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.”
It has to be noted that Vinicius has been at the receiving end of racist abuse multiple times in La Liga. His bold and unapologetic conduct is often used as an excuse for the heinous crime, but in reality, it in no way reduces the ugly nature of racist abuse.
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