Real Madrid Hand UEFA All Evidence From Da Luz Racism Incident
Real Madrid have submitted their full investigation findings to UEFA following the racist incidents that marred their Champions League tie at Benfica.
Real Madrid have formally passed their investigation findings to UEFA after a deeply troubling night in Lisbon left the football world talking for all the wrong reasons.
What Happened at Da Luz
Cast your mind back to Tuesday, 17 February — the first leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League playoff round against Benfica. The match was temporarily suspended after referee François Lexetier activated the anti-racism protocol, following complaints from Vinicius Jr that he’d been on the receiving end of racist abuse.
Two separate incidents were at the centre of it all:
- The stands: A section of Benfica’s home support directed racist gestures towards Madrid’s players, with Vinicius singled out in particular.
- On the pitch: Benfica’s Argentine forward Prestianni was accused of repeatedly calling Vinicius a racial slur — though he allegedly did so with his shirt pulled up over his face, making it extremely difficult to prove conclusively.
Madrid’s Investigation
Real Madrid didn’t just sit on their hands after the final whistle. The club launched their own internal investigation, gathering whatever evidence they could find from inside the Estádio da Luz. Their focus landed primarily on the crowd behaviour in the stands, which they believe is more clearly demonstrable than the alleged on-pitch abuse from Prestianni — given the shirt-over-face situation, that one’s always going to be a nightmare to pin down legally.
On Thursday, they handed everything over to UEFA, who had already opened their own inquiry into the incidents.
In their official statement, the club confirmed they had “provided UEFA with all available evidence” relating to the incidents and stressed they had cooperated actively with the governing body’s investigation.
The Bigger Picture
What’s notable here is how Madrid have played this — measured, methodical, and very much by the book. Rather than kicking off publicly (though they’d have every right to), they’ve gone down the institutional route and let the evidence do the talking.
Vinicius, who has been through this sort of thing more times than anyone should ever have to, received what the club described as unanimous support from across world football — and fair play to those who spoke up.
The key questions now:
- What action will UEFA actually take against Benfica?
- Will Prestianni face any personal sanction, given the difficulty in proving the alleged verbal abuse?
- And more broadly — when does European football stop having the same conversation over and over again?
Madrid have done their bit. The ball’s firmly in UEFA’s court now, and the football world will be watching to see whether the governing body’s response matches the seriousness of what went on.