Benfica has lodged a complaint with UEFA accusing Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde of violent conduct during the first leg of the Champions League playoff on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 at the Estadio da Luz, with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal, before the match was halted for 10 minutes after the striker claimed he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni of the hosts.
The case of racism is now under investigation by UEFA and Gianluca Prestianni is suspended for the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Instead of surrendering, Benfica wants to appeal. Not only that, the Portuguese team also complained to UEFA about Valverde's behavior.
Valverde collided without the ball with Samuel Dahl in the 83rd minute, with video footage showing the midfielder appearing to hit the back of the defender's head.
The referee awarded a free kick to Benfica, but did not give a yellow or red card to Valverde. VAR did not interfere either.
UEFA confirmed to ESPN on Friday, February 20, 2026, that they had received a complaint about the incident, which would be analyzed by its disciplinary body.
It seems that Benfica tried to divert the reaction after the first leg, which was dominated by accusations of racist abuse against Vinicius.
UEFA has appointed a disciplinary inspector to investigate the racism allegations, but there is no further information on the complaint about Valverde.
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