Adriana Garcia
Feb 20, 2026, 09:57 AM
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Brazil's Football Confederation has requested FIFA and UEFA to hand exemplary punishments to anyone guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior during Tuesday's Champions League game at Benfica.
UEFA have opened an investigation after Vinícius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him "monkey" after the Brazil international scored the only goal of the game.
"The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) expects FIFA to monitor the case and that UEFA will take all necessary measures to identify and punish those responsible for the racial abuse," a CBF statement said.
Vinícius Júnior racism allegations have prompted an investigation. Getty
"The CBF also sent a formal request to UEFA for a thorough investigation into the acts committed against Vinícius Jr., taking into account the testimony of the victim and those present, in order to identify and punish those involved in the incident in an exemplary manner."
Prestianni, who was captured by images covering his mouth with his jersey during the alleged incident, has denied the allegations while Benfica have condemned the "smear campaign" to which their Argentinian player is been subjected to.
Real Madrid said in a statement on Thursday it had sent UEFA "all available evidence following the unacceptable episodes of racism experienced during that match."
Tuesday's referee activated the anti-racism protocol resulting in the game in Lisbon being paused for 10 minutes.
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé said after Tuesday's 1-0 win at Benfica that he heard Prestianni call Vinícius is a monkey five times.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement on Wednesday he was "shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism."
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FIFA revised its disciplinary code last year and made changes to Articles 15 and 30 of its disciplinary code to offer ways to combat and eradicate racism and discrimination in football.
Among the changes, was increasing the maximum fine for racist abuse to five million Swiss francs. Prestianni faces a potential 10-match ban if found guilty of racial abuse in UEFA's disciplinary code