Benfica issue statement over Gianluca Prestianni 'admitting' what he said to Vini Jr
Benfica have issued a club statement after reports claimed that Gianluca Prestianni told team-mates what he said to Vinicius Junior.
Prestianni was suspended for one match by UEFA, prima facie, after Vinicius Junior accused him of racial abuse during the Champions League play-off first leg tie between Real Madrid and Benfica.
Vinicius made the accusation to match referee Francois Letexier shortly after he scored the only goal of the game in the second half, with the alleged incident taking place while the two teams were preparing to kick off.
Prestianni, who denies the accusations, was forced to sit out the second leg after an interim report on the incident was provided to UEFA by an appointed ethics advisor.
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A full investigation is yet to be completed and, if found guilty, the Argentinian could serve a minimum 10-match ban.
The Times reported on Tuesday that Prestianni is set to claim he used a homophobic slur towards Vinicius after he mocked his height, rather than a racial term.
That type of insult would also carry a significant ban as per Article 14 of UEFA's anti-discrimination policies, which state that any player who 'insults human dignity on grounds of sexual orientation, gender, race or religion' can be suspended for 10 matches.
Portuguese media claimed on Thursday that Prestianni had admitted to his team-mates that he did use a racial slur towards Vinicius.
But that claim has been promptly denied by Benfica, who have released a club statement on the matter.
The statement (via Sky Sports) reads: "Sport Lisboa e Benfica categorically denies that the player Prestianni has communicated to the squad or the club's structure that he has uttered a racist insult to the player Vinicius Jr, from Real Madrid.
"As has already been made public, the player apologised to his teammates for the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid, regretting the dimension and consequences of it and assuring everyone, as he has done since the first hour, that he is not racist."
What happens next?
As he was only given a one-match suspension by UEFA, Prestianni can return to action for Benfica while the full investigation is ongoing.
The 20-year-old has in fact served a two-match suspension, having been given a one-match ban for accumulating too many yellow cards in Liga Portugal.
He could feature in Benfica's away clash against Gil Vicente on March 2, should manager Jose Mourinho choose to restore him to the squad. Prestianni had started each of his side's last nine matches prior to his suspensions.
In terms of the UEFA investigation, it is unclear when the ethics committee of European football's governing body will reach a verdict.
Similar cases have previously been resolved in a number of weeks, though there is no set timeframe on how long a verdict should take to be reached.
In 2021, Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela was given a 10-match ban by UEFA after being found guilty of racially abusing Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara during a Europa League tie on March 18.
Kudela was banned on April 14 - 27 days after the original accusation.
Topics: Benfica, Real Madrid, Champions League, Vinicius Jr, Football
Ryan Smart