Thierry Henry has said that he “relates” to how Vinicius Junior is feeling after the Real Madrid star was allegedly racially abused during his side’s 1-0 win over Benfica.
In a fiery European play-off in Lisbon on Tuesday, the Brazilian scored the only goal at a partisan Estadio da Luz.
In the aftermath of his goal, however, the forward alleged to referee Francois Letexier that he had been racially abused, pointing at Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, who appeared to have uttered something to the Real man with his shirt covering his mouth.
It incensed Vinicius, who was booked for excessive celebration before that, and he stormed to the away bench as his team-mates took over his protests.
The incident lasted 10 minutes, including a red card for a member of Alvaro Arbeola’s coaching staff, while Kylian Mbappe confronted Prestianni on Vinicius’ behalf.
On CBS Sports, Henry confirmed that he had been through a similar experience to that of the Real Madrid player.
"I can relate to what Vinícius Jr. is going through.. At times you feel lonely because it's going to be your word against his word."
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 17, 2026
Thierry Henry reflects on the incident between Vinícius Jr. and Gianluca Prestianni 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/qa11TICJ9H
“I can relate to what Vinicius is going through,” the Frenchman said.
“That happened to me so many times on the pitch. I talked about it so many times after games. I’ve also been accused of looking for excuses after games when that happened to me. At times, you feel lonely, because it’s going to be your word against his word.
“We don’t know what Prestianni has said, because he was very courageous by putting his shirt over his mouth to make sure that we weren’t going to see what he said, so clearly, already, you look suspicious.
“Because you didn’t want people to see or read what you said. Then, the reaction of Vinicius is telling me that something not right happened. We still don’t know what was said. Vinicus can tell us his side, and Prestianni, I’m sure, will not tell us what he actually said, because I saw at one point Kylian Mbappe confront him, and he said, ‘I didn’t say anything’.
“Well, he must have said something at the very least. You feel like you don’t know what to do anymore. We’re in 2026 and still after a game like that, where we’re supposed to talk about his brilliant goal, we shouldn’t be having to deal with the referee telling you to not go to the corner flag, because that will incite the crowd.
“It’s a corner, can he not take a corner? He can’t go there to take a corner just because people are thinking whatever they’re thinking. Suddenly he becomes a victim. I can relate. I can assure you, when that happens, you don’t know what to do anymore.
“He tried to walk out in Spain one time, and another time, he tried to kick someone back because he’d had enough. Now he went to see the referee to tell him what happened. I’ve been there. The referee also told me he couldn’t do anything about it.”
The former Arsenal legend implored Prestianni to come out and admit what he had said.
“Let’s see how big of a man Prestianni is,” Henry continued.
“Tell us what you said. You must have said something, because you can’t go to Mbappe and say, ‘I didn’t say anything’. What do you mean, you covered your nose for what, you have a cold?
“He’s a coward,” fellow CBS pundit Micah Richards added.
In a statement in Portuguese on Instagram, shared by Benfica on social media, Prestianni denied making racist comments.
He wrote: "I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.
"I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."
