UEFA announced it has opened an investigation into allegations from Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior that a racist slur was directed his way by Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica during Tuesday's Champions League match.

The match was delayed for 10 minutes in the second half following Vinícius Júnior's goal after referee François Letexier initiated UEFA's anti-racism protocol. After the Real Madrid star celebrated taking the lead, Benfica players were seen getting upset with him. 

During the skirmish, Vinícius Júnior was seen walking past Prestianni before immediately approaching Letexier with the allegation. 

"Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouths with a shirt to show how weak they are," Vinícius Júnior said in a statement on social media. "But they have, on their side, the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my family's life. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why.

"On the other side, there was only a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don't like to appear in situations like this, especially after a great victory when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it is necessary."

Kylian Mbappé said he heard Prestianni call Vinícius Júnior a "monkey" five times.

The 20-year-old Prestianni has denied the allegations.

Angel Martinez via Getty Images

“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard," Prestianni said in a statement. "I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."

FIFA president Gianni Infantino released a statement saying that he was "shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism" and praised the referee for activating the anti-racism protocol. There is absolutely no room for racism in our sport and in society," Infantino said on social media. "We need all the relevant stakeholders to take action and hold those responsible to account."

If Prestianni is found guilty of racial abuse, he faces a potential 10-match ban per UEFA's guidelines.

Benfica and Real Madrid will meet again next Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff at Estadio Bernabéu in Madrid.

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen became the first South American to win a Winter Olympic medal after he earned gold during Saturday's men's giant slalom.

The 25-year-old Pinheiro Braathen, who is ranked second in the world in slalom and giant slalom, recorded a combined time of 2:25.00, 0.58 better than 2022 gold medalist Marco Odermatt to win the event.

Born to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, Pinheiro Braathen began his career representing Norway where he won five World Cup slalom and giant slalom races, while making 12 podiums. He competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the slalom and giant slalom, but did not finish either event.

After abruptly retiring in Oct. 2023, Pinheiro Braathen returned to competition five months later representing Brazil. He has one World Cup victory and now made 11 podiums since switching to Brazil ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Following his parents' divorce when he was three years old, Pinheiro Braathen lived with his mother in Brazil before moving to Norway to live with his father when he got older. 

“I was introduced to sports in the streets of São Paulo, playing with my neighbors, my family, my friends. I fell in love with sports over there,” Pinheiro Braathen said in 2024. “To be able to come full circle and to be able to represent [Brazil] in a World Cup of a sport, it truly means a lot. To be able to bring the dance to the snow is what I’m seeking to do.”

Pinheiro Braathen, who was one of Brazil's flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony, is now an Olympic history maker and joins previous athletes from his country such as Isadora Williams, who became the first Brazilian and South American in the women's figure skating final at the 2018 Olympics; five-time Olympic cross-country skier Jaqueline Mourão; and bobsledder Eric Maleson.

“Norway taught me how to be an athlete, how to brave the cold,” Pinheiro Braathen told reporters last week in Milan. “Brazil taught me how to be myself.”

Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves said he will do his job when it comes to being a starting pitcher and will allow umpires to do their jobs when it comes to calling balls in strikes with the the Automated Ball Strike Challenge System being instituted in MLB this season.

Every team will have two challenges to begin each game. Only batters, catchers and pitchers will be allowed to challenge ball or strike calls and they must signal their intent by tapping their heads immediately after the pitch to initiate the challenge.

The 36-year-old Sale has thrown over 30,000 pitches in his 15-year career with the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. What he won't do for the remainder of his time on the mound is challenge any called ball he believes is a strike.

“I will never challenge a pitch. I will never do it. I won't do it," Sale told reporters on Friday. "I’m not an umpire. That’s their job. I’m a starting pitcher. I’ve never called balls and strikes in my life. Plus, I’m greedy, and I know that. I think they’re all strikes."

Sale added that catchers, like teammates Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin, are so good at framing pitches that a lot more pitches appear to be strikes than they used to, especially ones on the corner of the plate. The nine-time All-Star and 2024 pitching Triple Crown and Cy Young Award winner said he'll trust the umpire's call so as to not risk a challenge that could be used later in the game during an important at-bat.

"I've dealt with it before, across all games in my entire career there's been balls called strikes and strikes called balls and you just deal with it," Sale said.

If Murphy or Baldwin disagree, however, that's a different story.

"If my catcher has something to say about it, I'll leave that to him," Sale said. I've dealt with both sides and I'm fine to keep dealing with it."