Vinicius Junior has taken to social media to address his allegation that he was racially abused by a Benfica player during Real Madrid’s Champions League win in Lisbon, saying such incidents have become all too familiar.
Vinicius scored a brilliant winning goal as Madrid left the Estadio da Luz with a 1-0 lead in the play-off round, ahead of next week’s second leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
But the match was marred by an incident that occurred shortly after Vinicius’ goal, when he became involved in an interaction with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.
Vinicius then spoke to referee Francois Letexier, who halted the match and followed UEFA’s protocol for dealing with allegations of racist abuse from a player.
Real Madrid subsequently released a statement, in which they confirmed Vinicius told Letexier that he was racially abused by Prestianni.
Vinicius has since taken to Instagram to address the incident, saying: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to show how weak they are.
“But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.
“I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.
“I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
El árbitro activó el protocolo antirracismo por insultos a Vini Jr.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 17, 2026
The match was stopped for 10 minutes as players and coaches from both sides became involved in confrontations, with Vinicius briefly sitting in the Madrid dugout.
More chaotic scenes followed in stoppage time, as Vinicius was struck on the arm by an object thrown from the crowd.
Vinicius has been the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse in the past, including by members of the crowd at LaLiga games versus Atletico Madrid and Valencia.
Last year, five people were handed suspended prison sentences for abusing him during a match between Real Valladolid and Real Madrid, back in September 2022.
