Real Madrid secured a vital 1-0 win over Benfica in the first leg of their 2025-26 Champions League knockout playoff, but the match has been overshadowed by the fallout between Vinicius Jr. and Gianluca Prestianni. After the Brazilian star accused the Argentine forward of racial abuse, a massive debate has erupted across the soccer world. In a surprising turn, Benfica legend Luisao has come forward to defend Vinicius and criticize the conduct of his own club’s player.
While Benfica have publicly supported Prestianni during the investigation, Luisao—the player with the most appearances in the Portuguese club’s history—took to social media to blast the young Argentine for his alleged actions.
“I love Benfica, it’s my second skin. You have to be worthy to wear the sacred jersey. This message makes it worse because it’s a lie… football is won with grit, with fight… He was a racist rat, YES, and I am ashamed of that,” Luisao wrote on his Instagram account.
Prestianni has since broken his silence, denying the allegations and claiming that Vinicius Jr. misinterpreted his words during their on-field altercation. However, the testimony from the Real Madrid locker room tells a different story.
Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica speaks towards Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid. (Getty Images)
Aurelien Tchouameni revealed that Prestianni allegedly called Vinícius a ‘m*nkey‘ while concealing his mouth with his jersey, and Kylian Mbappe has gone as far as calling for the Argentine to be banned from the Champions League to prevent future incidents.
UEFA launches official investigation
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Vinicius Jr releases statement, calls Gianluca Prestianni ‘coward’ after Real Madrid’s Champions League win vs Benfica
Despite the anti-racism protocol being activated during the match, no immediate sanctions were issued by the referee, allowing the game to finish with Real Madrid holding a slim 1-0 lead. The atmosphere is now expected to be extremely hostile for the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 25.
Hours after the match concluded, UEFA broke its silence regarding the racism allegations made by Vinícius Jr. and Real Madrid against Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, stating that ‘the official reports from the matches played last night are currently being reviewed‘.
Additionally, according to a report from Sky Sports News via its X account, UEFA has appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident between Vinícius Jr. and Prestianni.
