Benfica president Rui Costa has addressed allegations that Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during last week’s Champions League play-off first leg in Lisbon.
On 17 February, Vinicius’ goal secured a 1-0 win for Real Madrid, but the game was overshadowed by allegations of racism.
Vinicius accused Benfica’s Prestianni of using a racist slur, with Kylian Mbappe later claiming he heard the 20-year-old say “monkey” five times.
UEFA have since decided to provisionally ban the Argentinian for one match while an investigation continues, meaning he will be suspended for the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on 25 February.
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Prestianni has already denied the allegations and claimed that Vinicius “misinterpreted what he thought he heard”.
In a statement, Benfica confirmed they intend to appeal UEFA’s decision.
In the aftermath of the first leg, Benfica president Costa also appeared to become embroiled in a physical altercation with a reported member of the Real Madrid delegation.
On Tuesday (24 February), he addressed the incident while speaking to reporters and suggested Benfica are not a racist football club.
Costa also claimed that “Prestianni isn’t racist” and said he “would never let a racist play for Benfica”.
“Benfica is an example of inclusion,” Costa said.
“There was an incident that is being analysed. We cooperated as much as we could. Inside the stadium, everyone witnessed every moment — it was a Champions League game. Benfica will never waver when it comes to racism.
“We are an example of integration. It’s clear there was a conversation with everyone. This situation is uncomfortable for everyone.
“He’s not a racist player; if he were, he wouldn’t represent Benfica. This doesn’t harm Benfica. Prestianni isn’t racist and I would never let a racist play for Benfica. We believe in our player. I would be the first to point it out if Prestianni were racist. Benfica is protecting its player, who has been greatly offended in recent days. He is not racist. Benfica wouldn’t allow itself to have a racist player.”
He then addressed the alleged incident in the tunnel and suggested “the headlines were mixed up”.
“You have images,” the 53-year-old added.
“Instead of saying I got into a fight, you could have shown the images of me going to the tunnel, worried about losing another player. The match delegates were there, and they didn’t write anything down. That’s what happened.”
Jose Mourinho’s Benfica must overturn a one-goal deficit at the Santiago Bernabeu to progress to the Champions League round of 16.
Topics: Benfica, Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, Racism, Champions League
Luke Davies