JAKARTA - The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has asked FIFA and UEFA to impose a commensurate punishment on anyone found guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the Champions League playoff match against Benfica on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, early morning WIB.
UEFA has opened an investigation after Vinicius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a "monkey" after the Brazilian scored the only goal of the game.
"The Brazilian Football Federation expects FIFA to monitor this case and UEFA will take all necessary measures to identify and punish those responsible for the racial abuse."
"The CBF also sent an official request to UEFA for a thorough investigation into the actions taken against Vinicius Jr., taking into account the testimony of the victims and those present, to identify and punish those involved in the incident in a proportionate manner," said the CBF statement.
Prestianni, who was caught on camera covering his mouth with a jersey\ during the alleged incident, has denied the allegations, while Benfica condemned the smear campaign the Argentine player has been subjected to.
Real Madrid said in a statement on Thursday, February 19, 2026, that they had sent UEFA all available evidence following the unacceptable racism experienced during the match.
Meanwhile, the referee in the match also acted appropriately, activating the anti-racism protocol which resulted in the match in Lisbon being stopped for 10 minutes.
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe said after the 1-0 win over Benfica that he heard Prestianni call Vinicius a monkey five times.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also paid attention. He said in a statement that he was shocked and saddened to see the alleged racism incident.
FIFA revised its Disciplinary Code last year and made changes to Articles 15 and 30 to offer ways to combat and eradicate racism and discrimination in football.
Among the changes, an increase in the maximum fine for racist abuse to five million Swiss francs. Prestianni faces a potential 10-match ban if found guilty of racist abuse in the UEFA Disciplinary Code.
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