22 February 2026
Argentine Gianluca Prestianni has testified in UEFA's investigation into allegations that he racially abused Brazilian star Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid's match against Benfica. UEFA is investigating the incident, which occurred during the second half of the game at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, and which saw a tense moment after Vinicius scored the only goal of the match.
The Real Madrid striker accused Prestianni of directing racist insults at him while covering his face with his shirt, leading to a ten-minute stoppage in play. Sources told ESPN that the 20-year-old Argentine player testified that he called Vinicius "faggot" (you're a faggot) in Spanish, not "mono" (monkey), in an attempt to clarify the nature of the alleged insult.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni stated that Prestini gave the same explanation when confronted after the match.
Meanwhile, French striker Kylian Mbappé gave a detailed account of what he saw and heard to the media after the game, confirming that he personally heard Prestianni direct racist insults at Vinicius five times during the incident.
Mbappé said, "I heard them clearly, and there were Benfica players who heard them too," thus corroborating the Spanish team's version of events.
Real Madrid has submitted a dossier containing what it described as "all available evidence" to UEFA in support of the investigation.
During his press conference on Friday, Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa called for Prestianni to be punished for his alleged actions, expressing his hope that this case would mark a turning point in the fight against racist abuse in football.
Article 14 of the European Union Disciplinary Regulations states that the framework of sanctions for both racist insults and homophobic insults is the same, as the regulation states that any entity or person subject to these regulations who offends the dignity of a person or group of persons on any basis, including skin color, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, is subject to a suspension of at least ten matches or for a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction determined by the disciplinary body.
