Champions League: UEFA orders probe after alleged racial abuse of Vinicius Jr

Nyon: European football governing body, UEFA, has ordered a probe into claims that Real Madrid's star player Vinicius Junior was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni during the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 playoffs against Benfica played on February 17.

The incident happened when Vinicius was handed a yellow card by the referee for a wild celebration after scoring a goal against Benfica. During the celebration, he was confronted by Prestianni, who pulled his shirt up over his mouth before saying something that the Real Madrid star felt was abusive.

Vinicius then spoke to referee Francois Letexier, who halted the match for ten minutes and followed UEFA's protocol for dealing with allegations of racist abuse from a player.

The governing body confirmed on Tuesday that the review of the match is underway, and if Prestianni is found guilty, he will face disciplinary sanctions.

"The official reports from the matches played last night are currently being reviewed," said UEFA.

"Where issues are reported, proceedings are opened and, if they lead to the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, they are announced on the UEFA disciplinary website. We have no further information to provide you or any other comment to make on this matter at this stage," the governing body added.

After the match, Vinicius posted a photo on Instagram of himself celebrating by the Benfica corner flag.

He wrote, “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. Nothing that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family’s life. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t know why.” (IANS)

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