{"id":296494,"date":"2026-02-18T16:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/?p=296494"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:22:20","slug":"uefa-to-investigate-racial-abuse-allegations-involving-vini-junior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/uefa-to-investigate-racial-abuse-allegations-involving-vini-junior\/","title":{"rendered":"UEFA to investigate racial abuse allegations involving Vini Junior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PORTUGAL <\/strong>– UEFA said today, 18 February that it would “investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour” after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match in Lisbon, Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to AFP, yesterday’s first leg of the knockout phase play-off tie was stopped for more than 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to French referee Fran\u00e7ois Letexier about the alleged abuse following a confrontation between him and Prestianni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article stated that this came just moments after Brazilian international Vinicius scored a sublime goal before picking up a yellow card after celebrating in front of the Benfica crowd at the Est\u00e1dio da Luz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After arguing with Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to the referee and told him that he had [allegedly] been called “mono”, the Spanish word for monkey, by the Argentine midfielder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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,” the article said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real Madrid’s England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident had left a sour taste in his mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s disgusting. What’s happened tonight is a disgrace for football. It’s ruined the night for the team,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madrid’s talisman Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 called on Prestianni to be banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We cannot accept there’s a player playing in Europe’s best competition and behaving like this,” the France captain told reporters. “This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benfica coach Jos\u00e9 Mourinho hit out at Vinicius for inciting Benfica’s players and fans with his goal celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” Mourinho concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of calling him ‘mono’ (monkey in Spanish) during yesterday’s Champions League match, prompting UEFA to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":296498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"UEFA to investigate racial abuse allegations involving Vini Junior","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"Discover the details surrounding UEFA investigate racial abuse allegations that have shaken football 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to investigate racial abuse allegations on Vini Junior | PE Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how UEFA investigate racial abuse allegations following recent incidents in Portugal. 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