UEFA review Benfica Real Madrid incident after Vinicius racism controversy

UEFA have confirmed they are reviewing the match reports from Benfica’s Champions League loss to Real Madrid after Vinicius Junior complained of a racist insult during the second half of Tuesday’s first-leg tie in Lisbon.The European governing body said: “The official reports from the matches played last night are currently being reviewed.“Where matters are reported, proceedings are opened and should they lead to disciplinary sanctions being imposed, they are announced on the UEFA disciplinary website.”It later confirmed that: "A UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 knockout playoff between Club Benfica and Real Madrid CF on 17 February 2026."Play was halted for around 10 minutes after referee Francois Letexier activated FIFA’s anti-racism protocol following Vinicius’ complaint, with Real players gathering around officials and discussions taking place on the pitch.The incident came shortly after Vinicius scored the only goal of the match, curling in a second-half winner for Real to give the holders a 1–0 advantage ahead of the return leg in Madrid.Television footage showed Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni covering his mouth with his shirt as he spoke to Vinicius, with Real players alleging the comment was racist.Real captain Federico Valverde backed his team-mate after the game. He said: “It is unbelievable that, with dozens of cameras in the stadium that none could have caught (Prestianni’s) racial slur, but if you cover your mouth to say something, that says a lot.“According to my teammates who were close, they heard something very ugly. Many people have been fighting against racism in football, Vinicius is one of them. I’m proud of him and his great game.”Prestianni denied making any racist remark and posted a statement on Instagram. He said: “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.”Vinicius later wrote on social media that: “Racists are, above all, cowards.“They need to put their shirts over their mouths to demonstrate how weak they are.”UEFA’s next steps will depend on what is contained in the referee and delegate reports, with disciplinary proceedings opened where incidents are formally recorded.