Vinicius Junior breaks silence following alleged racism during Real Madrid’s win over Benfica

Christopher Sededzi Kwame 08:44 - 18 February 2026

Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior left the pitch for approximately ten minutes after claiming he was subjected to racial abuse during his side’s Champions League victory over Benfica.

The incident occurred shortly after Vinícius scored in the 50th minute, with tension arising when Benfica players took issue with his goal celebration. During the confrontation, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was seen covering his mouth with his shirt while speaking to Vinícius, prompting the Brazilian to immediately approach the referee and report the alleged abuse.

In a statement issued in Portuguese, translated into English, Vinícius Júnior said,

Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.

I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.

Vinícius’ teammate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, told Amazon Prime after the match: “I can’t comment too much on it as it is an ongoing investigation at this point.

I think what has happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance as well after an amazing goal.

Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace. There's no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting.

Real Madrid boss Álvaro Arbeloa added, "You have to ask Benfica’s players; it is not a question for me.

“I think everyone can see what happened with Prestianni. He put his shirt in his mouth, and now you have to ask him.

“What Vini said is not important. I think we need to fight against racism. It is the most important thing now in football. We support Vini now, of course, and now you have to ask them.

“Of course we have to fight against this type of attitude and to focus on football, but first we have to fight against things like that. We have to fight, especially the footballers. If we don’t respect each other, it is difficult.”

Benfica manager José Mourinho defended his club while also addressing Vinícius’ celebration, though he refrained from commenting on the specifics of the confrontation between Vinícius and Prestianni.

“I saw two completely different things,” Mourinho said. “I want to be independent, and I don’t comment about it. I told him [Vinícius] exactly that.

“I told him [Vinícius] – 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 [Eusébio] in the history of this club was black.

“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that – this in Benfica. They [Vinícius and Gianluca Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or the other. I want to be an independent.”

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