Benfica has issued an official statement denying reports that Gianluca Prestianni admitted to racially abusing Vinicius Junior during the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 playoff against Real Madrid.
In recent hours, rumors have circulated that the Argentine player secretly confessed to his Benfica teammates that he called Vinicius a “monkey.”
Benfica was forced to release a statement clarifying the situation, stating that Prestianni did not do anything of the sort and that all he did was apologize to his teammates for causing a tense atmosphere during the match at the Estádio da Luz.
The statement continued, “The player apologized to his teammates for the incident that occurred during the Real Madrid match, expressing his regret for its seriousness and consequences, and reiterating to everyone, as he has done from the beginning, that he is not racist.”
The 20-year-old missed the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu due to a provisional one-match suspension imposed by UEFA.
Benfica lost the second leg 2-1, having also lost the first leg 1-0, thus exiting the competition. UEFA, in conjunction with the Portuguese authorities, is continuing its investigation into the incident to uncover the facts and take the necessary disciplinary measures.
