Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni has spoken about the alleged racist abuse of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, while his club has released a video of the incident
Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni has denied being racist towards Vinicius Junior, instead claiming that the Real Madrid star “misinterpreted” what he said. The Champions League play-off first leg between the two sides was halted on Tuesday night after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse to the referee.
Vinicius put Real 1-0 up in the 50th minute at the Estadio da Luz before being booked for excessive celebrations in front of the home fans, who threw things in his direction. Just as the match was about to kick off, Vinicius ran over to referee Francois Letexier to report that he had been racially abused.
The Brazilian winger accused Argentina’s Prestianni of being racist towards him by the centre circle and walked off the pitch followed by his team-mates. The match was suspended for 10 minutes before restarting, with Real completing a 1-0 win.
Vinicius later posted a statement on social media which read: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to demonstrate how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish them.
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READ MORE: Mark Clattenburg’s remarks on Vinicius Jr’s alleged racist abuse spark major backlashREAD MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold slams alleged racist abuse of Vinicius Junior – ‘A disgrace’
“Nothing that happened here is new in my life or my family’s. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like appearing in situations like this, especially after a great victory when the headlines have to be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Prestianni also posted on social media, writing: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at the player Vinicius Junior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he heard. I have never been racist and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.” Benfica shared it along with the comment: “Together, by your side.”
Meanwhile, Benfica also took the remarkable step of uploading a video of the incident taken from the sidelines which showed the moment Prestianni pulled his shirt over his face before saying something towards Vinicius.
The Portuguese club used it as supposed evidence that Vinicius’ team-mates could not have heard what was said, despite Eduardo Camavinga and Kylian Mbappe being in the vicinity.
Benfica wrote: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Their comments echoed those of manager Jose Mourinho, who accused Vinicius of inciting the crowd with his celebration and said Benfica is not a racist club. “I saw two completely different things. I want to be independent, and I don’t comment about it. I told him [Vinicius] exactly that,” he told Amazon Prime.
“I told him [Vinicius] – when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person [Eusebio] in the history of this club was black.
“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that – this in Benfica. They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.”
Vinicius was supported by his team-mates. “Vini’s been subjected to this a few times throughout his career and for it to happen tonight and ruin the night for us as a team is a disgrace,” Trent Alexander-Arnold said. “Like I said, it’s a disgrace to football. There’s no place for it in football or society. It’s disgusting.”
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