Image Credit: @brfootball Twitter
February 25th 2026 was the final night of the UEFA Champions League Knockout Phase Playoffs which featured 2nd leg fixtures between Atalanta BC and Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Galatasaray S.K., Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco, and finally the controversial fixture between Real Madrid and S.L. Benfica. Every game was massive in their own right however many viewers paid very close attention to the Real Madrid vs Benfica game due to all the controversy that came from the previous game in regards to alleged racist abuse. On February 17th 2026, Benfica hosted Real Madrid for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Knockout Phase Playoffs and the game will forever be remembered for the incident that took place after Real Madrid’s number 7 Vinícius Júnior scored the opening goal of the game.
What was the Controversial Incident?
After scoring the goal Vinícius Júnior proceeded to celebrate by dancing near the corner flag which prompted outrage from the Benfica fans and one of their players, Gianluca Prestianni, who was seen covering his mouth with his shirt as he confronted Vini Jr to which both the Brazilian and his Real Madrid teammate, Kylian Mbappé, have testified to hearing racial slurs directed at Vini Jr from the Benfica player. No on field action was taken by the Match Official, despite Vini Jr’s complaints and protests, apart from Vini Jr receiving a yellow card prior to the confrontation as the Match Official deemed the Brazilian’s celebrations as “excessive.” To confirm, Vini Jr celebrated twice after scoring as his first celebration was the previously mentioned dance near the corner flag while the other was the showing of his name and number to the Benfica fans following the boos and jeers the Brazilian winger was receiving. It is still unclear which celebration the 25-year-old was booked for however it was not the big takeaway from this match.
What Happened After The incident?
Real Madrid won the game 1-0, giving them the aggregate lead going into the 2nd leg fixture however the more pressing news was the aftermath of the incident. Kylian Mbappé led the charge of the incident during post-match interviews expressing his perspective on the situation and his beliefs on how this situation should be handled. In summary; Mbappé stated that he heard Gianluca Prestianni call Vinícius Júnior a “monkey” 5 times, he felt Prestianni should not be allowed to play the 2nd leg fixture as well as not be allowed to play in the UEFA Champions League again. Benfica manager, Jose Mourinho had his own perspective on the situation where he seemingly is blaming Vini Jr’s celebration for the entire situation. The Portuguese manager questioned why the Brazilian winger did not celebrate with humility, which is quite ironic considering Mourinho’s own history of flamboyant celebrations, and was firmly in support of his player and the club claiming “Benfica is NOT a racist club”.
The player in question, Gianluca Prestianni, made a statement himself regarding the allegations claiming that Vini Jr and Mbappé misheard him and he regrets the threats he has received from the Real Madrid players.
“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.”
UEFA have taken action against the Benfica player by provisionally suspending the 20-year-old Argentine while they continue their investigation in regards to the situation which meant that Prestianni would miss the 2nd Leg fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu. UEFA have even confirmed that they have rejected Benfica’s appeal on the suspension, all but confirming the player absence from the upcoming fixture.
What Happened in the 2nd Leg Fixture?
As mentioned many times already Benfica and Real Madrid played their 2nd leg fixture last night and Vinícius Júnior once again made the headlines in regards to the match with his goal contribution and celebration once again. Leading up to the game, Kylian Mbappé was confirmed to have picked up an injury and joined the growing list of injuries to Real Madrid’s star players which includes the likes of Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Éder Militão just to name a few. All eyes were on Vini Jr as he was Real Madrid’s most in form fully fit goal scorer and fans were curious to see how the Brazilian would fare after the incident in the reverse fixture. The game went Benfica’s way early on in the fixture as the Portuguese side took the early lead in the 14th minute of the game courtesy of a Rafa Silva poacher’s goal however the lead did not last long as nearly 2 minutes later Aurélien Tchouaméni scored the equaliser for Los Blancos from a wonderfully worked counter attacking move.
The aggregate score at Half-Time was 2-1 to Real Madrid with everything still to play for in the 2nd half and that’s where Vini Jr came in. Captain Federico Valverde, who already assisted Madrid’s first goal, setup up Vini Jr for Real Madrid’s second goal of the game and the Brazilian winger capped off the moment by celebrating the goal with the exact same dance celebration near the corner flag that he used in the reverse fixture. There was no yellow card booking this time around and that 80th minute goal virtually closed out the game with the score at 2-1 to Real Madrid and 3-1 on aggregate which confirmed Los Blancos’ qualification to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 stage where later tonight they will find out who they will face in this knockout phase of the competition between another Portuguese team in Sporting CP or their Champions League rivals Manchester City.
