Real Madrid bans club member over Nazi salute during Benfica match

Game already overshadowed by alleged racial abuse aimed at Vinicius Junior by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in first leg.Published On 26 Feb 2026Real Madrid has banned a club member for performing the Nazi salute during the Champions League playoff second leg against Benfica, a game already overshadowed by allegations of racism.Madrid said in a statement that it had “urgently” requested the club’s disciplinary committee to start an “immediate expulsion procedure” for the member, who was caught on TV cameras making the gesture in the stands before kickoff in the game on Wednesday evening.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4UEFA and FIFA may get a red card at the ICC for ignoring Israeli violationslist 2 of 4PSG star Achraf Hakimi to stand trial in rape caselist 3 of 4FIFA and UEFA accused of aiding war crimeslist 4 of 4Senegal prime minister decries Morocco’s jailing of fans after AFCON finalend of list“This [club] member was identified by the club’s security staff moments after appearing on the broadcast and was immediately expelled from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium,” the club said.“Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society.”The incident comes after the first leg of the playoff last week, which Madrid won 1-0, was marred by alleged racial abuse aimed at Vinicius Junior by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.Prestianni, who denies the allegation, was provisionally suspended by UEFA for the game while the incident is under investigation, and Benfica had an appeal against his ban rejected earlier on Wednesday.Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni said his team’s 2-1 win over Benfica to reach the Champions League last 16 was a “victory for everyone who is against racism”.“We didn’t play our best match of the season, that’s for sure,” Tchouameni told reporters after Wednesday’s game.“But I think there are things more important than this match, and more important than football.”