Mbappé calls on UEFA to sanction Gianluca Prestianni over alleged racist insult to Vinícius Jr

Mbappé urges UEFA to act after alleged racist abuse of Vinícius Jr in Real Madrid win over Benfica

Kylian Mbappé has urged UEFA to impose the strongest possible sanction on Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni following an alleged racist insult directed at Vinícius Jr during Real Madrid’s Champions League match against Benfica.

The fixture at Da Luz was halted for ten minutes after the alleged incident. According to Mbappé, Prestianni called Vinícius Jr a “monkey” five times while covering his mouth with his shirt.

“What I saw is very clear: number 25 said five times to Vini that you are a monkey. Everyone can have their opinion, but this kind of behavior is unacceptable. It’s wonderful to play in the Champions League, but showing this image is terrible for world football,” Mbappé said in the mixed zone.

He added: “I called him racist because I think he is. He tried to hide behind his shirt, but his face doesn’t lie. This type of person is not a professional colleague. A young player cannot have the freedom to say things like this on a football field. It’s a big problem, and we’ll see what happens.”

Mbappé said Vinícius Jr was deeply affected by the incident but praised his contribution to the match. “He scored a wonderful goal that gave Real Madrid the victory,” he said.

Despite Real Madrid’s 0-1 win, Mbappé suggested the result was secondary to the broader issue. “We won the match, but that’s not what’s important. There are things much more important than football.”

He also called for accountability from European football’s governing body. “We hope UEFA will take action and not pretend nothing happened. This is a serious case,” Mbappé said, adding that such behaviour “cannot be tolerated” in the Champions League.