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UEFA will “investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour” after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match in Lisbon.
Tuesday’s first leg of the knockout phase playoff tie was stopped for more than 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to French referee Francois Letexier about the alleged abuse following a confrontation between him and Prestianni.
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That came just moments after Brazil international Vinicius scored the only goal in a 1-0 win before picking up a yellow card after celebrating in front of the home crowd at the Estadio da Luz.
UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, confirmed its investigation on Wednesday.
After arguing with Prestianni, Vinicius ran over to the referee and told him that he had been called “mono”, the Spanish word for monkey, by the Argentinian midfielder.
The 20-year-old Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt as he appeared to say something to Vinicius, denies racially abusing the Real Madrid star.
Real’s England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident had left a sour taste in the mouth.
“It’s disgusting. What’s happened tonight is a disgrace for football. It’s ruined the night for the team,” he said.
Real forward Kylian Mbappe called on Prestianni to be banned.
“We cannot accept there’s a player playing in Europe’s best competition and behaving like this,” the France captain told reporters.
“This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League again.”
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho hit out at Vinicius for inciting Benfica’s players and fans with his celebration.
“When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way,” said the Portuguese.
British football anti-discrimination body Kick It Out criticised Mourinho’s reaction and accused him of “gaslighting”.
“When anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported,” it said in a statement.
“Focusing on Vinicius Jr’s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.
Championship strugglers Leicester City are poised to name former player Gary Rowett as their new head coach.
BBC Radio Leicester report the 51-year-old, who was sacked as Oxford boss two months ago, took training on Wednesday.
Rowett now looks set to be the permanent replacement for Marti Cifuentes, who was sacked three weeks ago.
The Foxes are third from bottom in the Championship, two points adrift of safety with 14 games left.
Rowett, who had two years at Leicester after joining from Birmingham City in 2000, has previously managed five clubs in the Championship.
Leicester have lost all four games under interim boss Andy King since Spaniard Cifuentes’ departure, and have also been docked six points in that time, having been found guilty of breaching spending rules after a protracted legal battle.
The points penalty, combined with a seven-game winless run that has included six defeats, has plunged Leicester into the drop zone.
The T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka is entering its business end with the group stage almost wrapped up and the Super 8s line-up now confirmed.
Pakistan became the final team to progress from the group stage with a dominant victory against Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday.
They join defending champions India, co-hosts Sri Lanka, West Indies, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe in the next phase of the tournament.
Defending champions India sealed their place in the Super 8s with a comfortable 61-run win over rivals Pakistan.
Pakistan slipped to third with that defeat, with their net run-rate taking a heavy hit.
However, a dominant 102-run victory in their final game against Namibia helped them seal second place in Group A.
USA sat second going into the final set of fixtures in the group though they slipped to third place with Pakistan’s win.
That win also meant the Netherlands’ final group-stage fixture against co-hosts India proved to be inconsequential.
Remaining games: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe (19 Feb, 09:30), Australia v Oman (20 Feb, 13:30)
Sri Lanka secured their progression with a brilliant eight-wicket win over Australia.
Zimbabwe joined them in the next stage after their game against Ireland was washed out.
After their shock defeat by Zimbabwe, Australia needed Ireland to defeat Zimbabwe to stay alive in the tournament but with that game not going ahead, they were knocked out.
Remaining games: West Indies v Italy (19 Feb, 05:30)
West Indies secured their progression with a nine-wicket win over Nepal on Sunday.
England booked their place with a 24-run victory over Italy on Monday.
Remaining games: Afghanistan v Canada (19 Feb, 13:30 GMT)
Unbeaten South Africa qualified and go through as group winners after victory over UAE on Wednesday.
New Zealand booked their place in the next stage with an eight-wicket victory against Canada.
The top two teams in each group – A to D – progressed to the Super 8s, which is made up of two groups of four.
The International Cricket Council pre-determined the Super 8 groups if the eight seeded sides qualified:
X Group: India (X1), Australia (X2), West Indies (X3), South Africa (X4)
Y Group: England (Y1), New Zealand (Y2), Pakistan (Y3), Sri Lanka (Y4)
If any of those sides did not progress, the teams who did get through in their place were to fill the spot and with Australia failing to qualify, Zimbabwe took their spot in the Super 8s.
Each team plays three matches in the Super 8s phase, facing each of the other teams in their group once.
Group 1: India, Zimbabwe, West Indies, South Africa
22 February
India v South Africa (13:30, Ahmedabad)
23 February
Zimbabwe v West Indies (13:30, Mumbai)
26 February
West Indies v South Africa (09:30, Ahmedabad)
India v Zimbabwe (13:30, Chennai)
1 March
Zimbabwe v South Africa (09:30, Delhi)
Group 2: England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
21 February
New Zealand v Pakistan (13:30, Colombo)
22 February
Sri Lanka v England (09:30, Pallekele)
24 February
England v Pakistan (13:30, Pallekele)
25 February
Sri Lanka v New Zealand (13:30, Colombo)
27 February
England v New Zealand (13:30, Colombo)
28 February
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Benfica claim there is a “defamation campaign” against Gianluca Prestianni after Uefa launched an investigation into claims he racially abused Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr.
Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Benfica was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse to referee Francois Letexier and he and his team-mates left the field.
Brazil international Vinicius, who has been a victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career, later said in a post on Instagram: “Racists are, above all, cowards.”
Prestianni, who could face a minimum 10-match ban from European competition if found guilty, denied directing racial abuse at Vinicius.
On Wednesday, Benfica defended Prestianni via a post on their official X account, alongside a video of the alleged incident, saying: “Given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
The club added they “fully support” and believe the version of events presented by Prestianni.
“[Prestianni’s] conduct in the service of the club has always been guided by respect for opponents, institutions and the principles that define Benfica’s identity,” Benfica added.
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said in his post-match interview that he had been told different things by Vinicius and Prestianni regarding the incident.
Mourinho, who managed Real for 178 games between 2010 and 2013, said Vinicius had been disrespectful in his goal celebration and pointed to their legendary striker Eusebio as proof that Benfica is not a racist club.
“The club reaffirms, clearly and unequivocally, its historical and unwavering commitment to defending the values of equality, respect and inclusion, which are in line with the core values of its foundation and have Eusebio as their greatest symbol,” Benfica said.
Mourinho’s and Benfica’s comments have been criticised by a number of people, including anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out.
Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari said both the club and manager had “failed”.
“It’s a natural inclination to want to believe your player, but the reality is they didn’t hear it,” Bhandari told BBC Sport.
“There’s only two people who are in that conversation and two people who could have heard what was said.
“I think the better reaction from a club with Benfica’s fantastic stature would be to say we’re going to cooperate with the investigation.
“This is quite typical after these kinds of discriminatory events. The discrimination is one thing, the gaslighting is another.”
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said he was “shocked and saddened” by the incident and commended Letexier for activating the anti-racism protocol.
“There is absolutely no room for racism in our sport and in society – we need all the relevant stakeholders to take action and hold those responsible to account,” he added.
