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Racism Spoils Real Madrid's Champions League Match

Feb 18, 2026

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Real Madrid are one step towards reaching the Champions League last-16.

They beat Benfica 1-0 in Portugal in their first-leg knockout round playoff, with Vinicius Jr scoring the winner early in the second half.  

However, the match was briefly halted after Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by a Benfica player.  

The Brazilian and his Real teammates walked off the pitch, before returning 10 minutes later.  

It’s not the first time that Vinicius has suffered such abuse – one of the incidents in Spain last year led to suspended prison sentences for 5 people.  

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Real Madrid's players and staff have offered their full support to Vinicius Jr, with boss boss Alvaro Arbeloa saying such abuse must never happen on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold says the incident had "ruined" what was supposed to be an entertaining night of football.

And Eduardo Camavinga believes Real players were right to walk off the pitch in protest.

The Benfica player involved has yet to comment.

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Benfica boss Jose Mourinho has accused the Brazilian of trying to incite the Portuguese club’s fans just moments before the alleged abuse.  

He says Vinicius went overboard with his celebrations after scoring the match-winner.  

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In other Champions League results

Defending champions PSG beat Monaco 3-2  

Galatasaray thumped 10-man Juventus 5-2  

And Borussia Dortmund had a 2-0 win over Atalanta.  

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Arsenal will aim to extend their lead in the Premier League table to 7 points when they travel to Wolves tomorrow morning.  

Meanwhile, Wolves will be desperate to pick up points as they are at the bottom of the standings, 18 points from safety.  

Arsenal’s Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori will both undergo late fitness tests after they picked up a knock at the weekend.  

Catch Wolves vs Arsenal from 4AM LIVE on Astro channel 811 and on Sooka!  

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Manchester United are refusing to lower their £26 million option for Barcelona to convert Marcus Rashford’s loan spell into a permanent deal.  

Barca are trying to negotiate a smaller fee due to their ongoing financial problems.  

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Also in the news

Bukayo Saka has signed a new contract that extends his stay at Arsenal until 2031.

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Man City have no plans to sell goalkeeper James Trafford this summer, as he struggles to compete with Gianluigi Donnarumma for first team starts

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Former Man United attacker Jesse Lingard is close to joining a Brazilian club Remo on a free transfer, months after he left South Korea’s FC Seoul.  

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And it looks like the Australian MotoGP will continue to be held at Phillip Island, after the Victoria state govt rejected a proposal to move the venue to Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit, which is also hosts Formula 1 .