UEFA INVESTIGATION: EMERGENCY PROBE LAUNCHED INTO BENFICA VS REAL MADRID VINíCIUS JR RACISM ALLEGATIONS
Is UEFA doing enough? Analyse the Vinícius racism storm, Mourinho’s comments, and Trent Alexander-Arnold's "disgrace" reaction.
_1771377151.webp)
A Champions League match ground to a halt for nearly ten minutes after Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior accused a Benfica player of racist abuse.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Madrid’s defender, didn’t hold back;At theback; he called it “a disgrace to football.” Benfica manager Jose Mourinho saw things differently and blamed Vinícius for provoking the Benfica players and fans with his goal celebration in Madrid’s 1-0 win.
Here’s what happened: Vinícius had just curled a beautiful shot into the top corner. Right after, French referee François Letexier stopped the game in the 5signallinge, signaling with his arms that something serious had happened an accusation of racism.
Benfica fans reacted right away. They started throwing bottles and other stuff at the Madrid players after Vinícius celebrated by dancing near the corner flag.
Then Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni walked up to Vinícius, said something, but covered his mouth with his shirt. Vinícius immediately pointed at Prestianni and ran straight to the referee. TV cameras caught Vinícius telling Letexier that Prestianni"monkey".im “monkey.”
After the game, Vinícius posted a photo on Instagram, celebrating next to the Benfica corner flag. His caption was blunt: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouths with their shirts to show how they are weak. Nothing that happened today is new to me in my life and in my family's life. I was shown a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't know why.”
As soon as Viníc, hepoke up he’s faced racist abuse in Spain before the referee stopped the match. Vinícius sat in the dugout, and some of his teammates drifted over to the sideline. Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouaméni said later that the team thought about walking off, but in the end, they kept playing. Mbappé checked with Vinícius first to see what he wanted to do.
Alexander-Arnold summed up everyone’s feelings after the match: “What’s happened tonight is a disgrace to football. It’s overshadowed the performance, especially after such an amazing goal. Vini’s been subjected to this a few times throughout his career, and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a disgrace. There’s no place for it in football or society. It’s disgusting.”
Prestianni, just 20, stood off to the side while Vinícius talked to the referee. Madrid’s Federico Valverde said, “The players who were near said that [Prestianni] said something ugly that shouldn’t be said. If you cover your mouth to say something, it’s because you’re saying something not nice. I’m proud of my teammates who defended Vini, and of Vini.”
Benfica’s side told a different story. Leandro Barreiro saihim,“I asked him and he said it was a normal provocation between players during a match. He said it was nothing racist.”
Both coaches, Mourinho and Madrid’s Álvaro Arbeloa, spoke to Vinícius on the sidelines. Mourinho tried to stay criticisedt criticized Vinícius for celebrating near the Benfica fans. “Unfortunately he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal,” Mourinho said. “When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way. There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. The stadium where Vinicius played, something happened. Always.”
The referee signalled he didn’t hear anything and pointed out that Prestianni had his shirt over his mouth. Prestianni didn’t get a yellow card and kept playing until he was subbed off in the 81st minute, with Benfica fans applauding him.
When the match restarted, Vinícius was booed loudly by the home crowd every time he touched the ball. Late in the game, a bottle thrown from the crowd hit him near the sideline. The referee asked for a stadium announcement, warning fans to stop throwing things on the field.
Mbappé, who stood up for Vinícius during the confrontation, got jeered too. Cameras caught him apparently telling Prestianni he was a racist, with some choice words.
“We can’t accept that a player who plays in Europe’s top competition behaves like that,” Mbappé said. “He shouldn’t keep playing in the competition. Let’s see what happens now.”
UCL DRAW 2026 LAST 16: PREMIER LEAGUE GIANTS FACE BRUTAL DRAW IN QUEST FOR EUROPEAN GLORY 2026
The Champions League draw is out! Read the full list of fixtures, including Man City vs Real Madrid and Newcastle’s trip to Barcelona.
Manchester City will go head-to-head with Real Madrid in what’s easily the standout fixture of this season’s Champions League round of 16.
UEFA stuck to the same process as last year’s new format, running the draws for the last 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals all on the same day in Nyon, Switzerland.
There’s still plenty of English interest left in the competition. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Man City all made it through, which pretty much guarantees the Premier League an extra Champions League spot next season thanks to the UEFA coefficient.
With the seeding and pairing rules, each of the 16 teams already knew they’d be facing one of just two possible opponents in the next round.
Liverpool and Tottenham ended up in the same section of the bracket. No surprise, since they finished third and fourth in their groups.
Arsenal, who topped their group, drew Bayern Munich. Manchester City got Sporting Lisbon, and Chelsea lined up against Barcelona.
After Newcastle’s play-off win over Qarabag, they were slotted into their section of the bracket.
Now that the draw’s done, here’s what’s coming up: Chelsea will take on defending champions PSG, and Newcastle will get Barcelona.
Real Madrid against Manchester City is the pick of the bunch, two giants going toe-to-toe.
Liverpool will face Galatasaray, while Tottenham will meet Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are set to play either Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta – a tricky tie either way.
Here’s the full Champions League last 16 draw for 2025/26:
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Bodø/Glimt vs Sporting
Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea
Newcastle vs Barcelona
Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham
Atalanta vs Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal
And for the Europa League quarter-finals:
Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea vs Galatasaray/Liverpool
Real Madrid/Manchester City vs Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Newcastle/Barcelona vs Tottenham/Atletico Madrid
Bodø/Glimt/Sporting vs Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
The Europa League semi-finals shape up like this:
Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea/Galatasaray/Liverpool vs Real Madrid/Manchester City/Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Newcastle/Barcelona/Tottenham/Atletico Madrid vs Bodo/Glimt/Sporting/Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
As for the dates, here’s what you need to know:
Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18, 2026
Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15, 2026
Semi-finals: April 28/29 & May 5/6, 2026
Final: May 30, 2026, in Budapest
PSG THROUGH: PARIS SURVIVE 2-2 MONACO THRILLER TO REACH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16
Discover how PSG survived a 2-2 draw with Monaco to clinch a 5-4 aggregate Champions League victory.
PSG had to fight for it, but they’re through. On Wednesday night in Paris, they drew 2–2 with Monaco and squeezed into the Champions League last 16, winning 5–4 on aggregate. The match was anything but straightforward.
Last week’s first leg was wild; PSG came from two goals down to win 3–2 after Monaco lost a player to a red card early in the second half. This time, Monaco, determined and dangerous, went ahead again. Maghnes Akliouche finished off a sharp move just before halftime, levelling the overall score and raising the tension another notch.
Then, just when Monaco seemed to be in control, disaster struck. Mamadou Coulibaly picked up a second yellow card in the 58th minute, and suddenly, Monaco were down to ten men again, just like last week. PSG wasted no time. From the free kick that followed, Marquinhos bundled in the equaliser, and the mood inside the Parc des Princes changed immediately.
The pressure didn’t let up. A few minutes later, Hakimi smashed a shot at Monaco’s keeper, Philipp Köhn, who could only parry it away. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pounced and put PSG ahead, and it looked like they’d finally broken Monaco’s resistance.
But Monaco weren’t done. Deep into stoppage time, substitute Jordan Teze poked home a deflected cross to make it 2–2 on the night and push PSG right to the edge. Wout Faes even came close to grabbing a late winner, but PSG held firm. The home crowd could finally breathe.
Now, PSG waits to find out who they’ll face next. Barcelona or Chelsea could be waiting in the draw on Friday, with the final in Budapest looming in the distance. There’s history with both clubs. PSG beat Barcelona away back in October, and they’ve met five times in knockout rounds since 2013. Chelsea? That still stings. PSG lost 3–0 to them in last year’s Club World Cup final, the only real blemish in a phenomenal season.
Most people expected PSG to handle Monaco easily. Monaco is way behind them in Ligue 1 and hasn’t made a deep Champions League run since 2017, when a teenage Mbappé was still lighting up their attack. But Monaco came into this one with nothing to lose, especially with PSG missing last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé, through injury.
In the early stages, Monaco looked like they might pull off a shock. Coulibaly missed a golden chance, blazing over from Akliouche’s cutback, and Balogun forced a sharp save from Safonov. PSG hit the bar through Bradley Barcola, but it was Monaco who got the breakthrough just before halftime. Safonov’s half-clearance didn’t relieve the pressure, and Akliouche eventually slotted home after a neat layoff from Coulibaly.
Everything changed after Coulibaly’s red card. Booked minutes earlier, he lunged late into a challenge on Hakimi, and the referee didn’t hesitate with the second yellow; off he went. PSG took full advantage, scoring from the resulting free kick and then again through Kvaratskhelia after a scramble.
Monaco almost dragged it into extra time, but in the end, they’re out, knocked out at this stage for a second straight year. PSG, though, keep their title defence alive and can start dreaming of Budapest.
Must Read
