UEFA has officially launched an investigation about the incidents that took place in the Benfica-Real Madrid match, in which Argentinian player from Benfica Gianluca Prestianni allegedly called Madrid player Vinícius Jr. "monkey" five times, words heard by teammates like Kylian Mbappé, despite Benfica's denials that they couldn't hear it.
"A UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 Knock-out Play-off between Club Benfica and Real Madrid CF on 17 February 2026" UEFA said.
Now, involved players as well as some witness will be called to make statements, to determine if Prestianni broke article 14 from the code of conduct, which punishes "any entity or person who insults the human dignity of an individual or group of individuals for any reason, including skin color, race, religion, origin, gender or sexual orientation".
Prestianni faces a potential sanction for ten games if found guilty, but it will be difficult to determine because the player covered his mouth with his shirt. The player denied calling Vinícius "monkey", but has not said what he really said in that moment to Vinícius; he has been called "coward" by pundits Thierry Henry and Micah Richards.
Benfica "deplores the smear campaign to which the player has been subjected"
Meanwhile, Benfica said in a statement that they will "cooperate fully with UEFA's requests and that it maintains its support for Prestianni's version of events" and criticised "the smear campaign" against the Argentinian player, once again bringing the name of Eusébio, Benfica's all-time goal scorer who died in 2014, who was black, in their defence.
"The club reaffirms, clearly and unequivocally, its historic and unwavering commitment to upholding the values of equality, respect, and inclusion, which correspond to the core values of its founding and of which Eusébio is the greatest symbol".