{"id":12669,"date":"2026-02-18T20:21:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12669"},"modified":"2026-02-18T20:21:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:21:51","slug":"real-madrids-vinicius-to-have-alleged-racist-abuse-investigated-by-uefa-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12669","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius to have alleged racist abuse investigated by UEFA | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Junior alleges racist abuse against Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni in the UEFA Champions League.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">2 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 18 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">18 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>UEFA will \u201cinvestigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour\u201d after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match in Lisbon.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s first leg of the knockout phase playoff tie was stopped for more than 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to French referee Francois Letexier about the alleged abuse following a confrontation between him and Prestianni.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>That came just moments after Brazil international Vinicius scored the only goal in a 1-0 win before picking up a yellow card after celebrating in front of the home crowd at the Estadio da Luz.<\/p>\n<p>UEFA, the sport\u2019s governing body in Europe, confirmed its investigation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>After arguing with Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to the referee and told him that he had been called \u201cmono\u201d, the Spanish word for monkey, by the Argentinian midfielder.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt as he appeared to say something to Vinicius, denies racially abusing the Real Madrid star.<\/p>\n<p>Real\u2019s England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident had left a sour taste in the mouth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s disgusting. What\u2019s happened tonight is a disgrace for football. It\u2019s ruined the night for the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Real forward Kylian Mbappe called on Prestianni to be banned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot accept there\u2019s a player playing in Europe\u2019s best competition and behaving like this,\u201d the France captain told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis guy doesn\u2019t deserve to play in the Champions League again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Benfica coach Jose Mourinho hit out at Vinicius for inciting Benfica\u2019s players and fans with his celebration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,\u201d said the Portuguese.<\/p>\n<p>British football anti-discrimination body Kick It Out criticised Mourinho\u2019s reaction and accused him of \u201cgaslighting\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFocusing on Vinicius Jr\u2019s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis approach not only harms the individual affected but also sends the wrong message to others around the world who may have experienced similar situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid\u2019s Vinicius Junior alleges racist abuse against Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni in the UEFA Champions League. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a02 mins info Published On 18 Feb 202618 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share UEFA will \u201cinvestigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour\u201d after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}