Real Madrid game against Benfica halted over alleged racial slur
Real Madrid's Champions League match at the Estadio da Luz in Portugal was stopped for 11 minutes after Vinicius Junior told the referee he suffered racial abuse from a Benfica player.
Wednesday 18 February 2026 10:07, UK
Real Madrid's Champions League game against Benfica was stopped for several minutes after a racist slur was allegedly directed at Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior by an opposition player.
The match, in Lisbon, Portugal, was halted five minutes into the second half, shortly after Vinicius gave the away side a 1-0 lead in the first leg of the knockout playoffs.
Cameras picked up the 25-year-old telling French referee Francois Letexier he had been targeted in a comment made to him by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni.
Prestianni has denied making a racist slur, claiming the Madrid player "misinterpreted what he thought he heard".
The match was stopped for 11 minutes as Vinicius went to the sidelines at the Estadio da Luz.
Both coaches, Benfica's Jose Mourinho and Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa, talked to him at one point.
It appears Benfica players were not happy with the forward because he celebrated his goal by dancing in front of the corner flag, and some went to confront him.
Vinicius had been shown a yellow card after the celebration.
After the complaint, Letexier responded by crossing his arms in front of his face, activating FIFA's anti-racism protocol and stopping the match.
Real's players threatened to leave the pitch as tensions rose, but the referee eventually allowed the match to resume.
Vinicius: Racists are cowards
Vinicius has repeatedly suffered racism in Spain during games. In a message on Instagram after the match, he said: "Nothing that happened here today was new in my life and my family's."
"Racists are, above all, cowards," he added.
"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."
He described the protocol enforced by the referee as serving "no purpose", and said he didn't understand why he was booked for his celebration.
"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," he said.
In a message on his own Instagram, Prestianni said: "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.
"I have never been racist towards anyone, and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."
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Player 'could be banned' if found guilty
The teams are due to go to Madrid to play the second leg, with the Spanish side 1-0 up, but Paste BN' sports correspondent Rob Harris said there could be sanctions.
"There can be a ban for the player, if he's found guilty of the racial abuse of Vinicius," he explained.
"Vinicius himself had warned about facing racism in the past, particularly in Spain... and had said that he would be prepared to walk off... if he faced abuse.
"Football often talks about sending out a message, and imposing those bans, to hopefully try to stamp out the scourge of racism. But how often are we still talking about this in football?"
'It's disgusting,' says England star
After the game, teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, a former Liverpool and England player, told Amazon Prime: "What's happened tonight is a disgrace to football. It's overshadowed the performance, especially after such an amazing goal.
"Vini has been subjected to this a few times throughout his career, there's no place for it in football or society. It's disgusting."
Mourinho comments draw criticism
Speaking about the incident after the match, Benfica manager Mourinho claimed he was told different things by Vinicius and Prestianni, and expressed his belief that the Madrid forward's celebration had been disrespectful.
"I told him [Vinicius] when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back," Mourinho told Amazon Prime.
"They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don't believe in one or another. I want to be an independent."
The 63-year-old former Real and Chelsea boss then appeared to reference previous incidents in which the Brazilian player had been subject to racist abuse during games.
Clarence Seedorf, a former Real Madrid midfielder who was working as a pundit at the match, said Mourinho had made "a big mistake" with his comments.
Seedorf said on Amazon Prime: "I think he [Mourinho] made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse, and I'm not saying that was the case today, but he mentioned something more than today.
"He said wherever he goes these things happen, so he's saying it's OK when Vinicius provokes you, that is it OK to be racist, and I think that is very wrong.
"We should never, ever justify racial abuse."
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Vinicius Jr has made multiple allegations of racist abuse by both players and fans since he moved to Spain's La Liga in 2018, including during matches against Real's fiercest rivals, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
In 2023, he reacted to alleged racist abuse in a match at Valencia by saying "racism is normal in La Liga".
Later that year, the Vinicius Jr law was passed in Brazil to combat racism at sporting events.
In 2024, at a news conference ahead of Brazil's friendly against Spain in Madrid - a game organised to raise awareness of racism in the sport - Vinicius broke down, admitting he had "less will to play" because of the abuse directed toward him.