Benfica midfielder Leandro Barreiro said Prestianni told teammates he had provoked Vinícius but never used racist language.
“I asked him and he said it was a normal provocation between players during a match,” Barreiro said. “He said it was nothing racist.”
Madrid players back Vinícius
Real Madrid teammates supported Vinícius’s account. Kylian Mbappé told TNT Sports Brasil that Prestianni “told Vini five times that he’s a monkey” and said the Argentinian “doesn’t deserve to play in the best competition, which is the Champions League”.
Midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni told Movistar that Vinícius had told the team Prestianni called him a monkey. His teammate Federico Valverde said, “If you cover your mouth to say something, it means what you’re saying isn’t right.”
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold called the incident “a disgrace to football” and said Vinícius had been subjected to similar abuse several times during his career.
Arbeloa said, “Tolerance for racism has to be zero. Things like that can’t happen on a pitch in 2026.”
Mourinho draws criticism
Mourinho faced backlash for comments that appeared to suggest Vinícius had provoked the incident through his celebration.
“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” the Portuguese coach told Amazon Prime. “They told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be independent.”
Mourinho also referenced previous incidents in which Vinícius has been subjected to racist abuse in Spain, suggesting the player’s behaviour may have contributed.
“When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person Eusébio in the history of this club was black,” Mourinho said. “This club, the last thing that it is, is racist.”
“To Vinícius, on the pitch, I said: ‘You scored a goal from another world, why are you celebrating like that? Why don’t you celebrate like Di Stéfano, Pelé or Eusébio? Why don’t you just celebrate the goal with the joy of being a player from another world?” Mourinho explained.
The match also saw objects thrown at Vinícius from the crowd, prompting a stadium announcement warning fans not to throw items onto the pitch.
A member of Benfica’s coaching staff was shown a red card during the stoppage, and Mourinho himself was sent off later in the match for a separate incident.
UEFA to open probe
UEFA said it was analysing official match reports and would open investigations if anything was reported. “If they lead to disciplinary sanctions, these will be announced on the UEFA website,” the governing body said.
Under UEFA regulations, any player found to have insulted an opponent with racist remarks faces a suspension of at least 10 matches.
Vinícius has filed 18 legal complaints over racist abuse directed at him since 2022. In June 2024, three Valencia supporters were jailed for eight months for racially abusing him during a La Liga match in May 2023, the first conviction of its kind in Spain.
The two sides meet again in the second leg of the play-off at the Santiago Bernabéu on 26 February.
