Rumors have circulated in recent hours that Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni is under investigation by UEFA for allegedly directing racist abuse at Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian international claims that Prestianni racially abused him, a claim also corroborated by Kylian Mbappé after the Real Madrid-Benfica match, who stated that the Argentine player called Vinicius a monkey five times.
UEFA has opened an investigation into the sensitive matter to uncover the truth, with the threat of severe sanctions for the 20-year-old Prestianni if he is found to have used racist language towards Vinicius.
It has been reported that the investigation has already begun and that Prestiani has denied directing racist abuse, but admitted to insulting Vinicius by using a homophobic slur in Spanish.
For his part, Gaston Fernandez, Prestianni’s agent, categorically denied these rumors, stating in a press interview, “Everything published about what Gianluca said during the UEFA investigation is untrue. No one has officially spoken to us about the expected sanctions regarding this incident.”
He added, “We have already made it clear that what happened was not as they tried to portray it regarding Gianluca. From now on, all that matters to us is providing the player with peace of mind.”
It is worth noting that Portuguese newspapers also confirm that Prestianni is determined to play the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu despite the charged atmosphere against him and the hostile chants he is expected to face from Real Madrid fans, as well as the stance of the Merengues’ players themselves.
