Benfica release extraordinary statement after Vinicius Junior alleged racist abuse | Football | Sport
Vinicius Junior alleged that he had been racially abused after scoring his goal (Image: Getty)
Benfica took to social media with an extraordinary post after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior alleged that he was racially abused by one of their players. The game on Tuesday night was stopped for 10 minutes after the Brazilian claimed that he had been targeted by a remark from Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni. Vinicius initially refused to play on but was eventually convinced to return to the pitch with the rest of the Real Madrid team.
The alleged incident took place after Vinicius had scored what turned out to be the winning goal, lashing into the top corner in the second half. He celebrated wildly in front of the Benfica fans before reporting the alleged racist remark to the referee, who responded by activating UEFA’s anti-racism protocol. Prestianni has denied the allegation, claiming that he must have been misunderstood.
He said: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard. I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
Benfica posted on X (formerly Twitter) in support of Prestianni, simply writing: “Together, by your side.” In another post with a video of the alleged incident, they sensationally suggested that Real Madrid players were lying over the alleged racism.
The post was captioned: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Vinicius issued a strong statement after the final whistle, describing racist abusers as ‘cowards’ and hitting out at UEFA for a ‘poorly executed protocol’.
He said: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them.
“Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why.
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“On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”
Benfica boss Jose Mourinho also shared his perspective, accusing Vinicius of lacking respect in his goal celebration in front of the home supporters.
Speaking to Amazon Prime, he said: “These talents are able to do these beautiful things but unfortunately he [Vinicius] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and then the game was over. When you score a goal like that you celebrate in a respectful way.”
Asked if he thought Vinicius provoked Benfica supporters and players with his celebration, Mourinho replied: “Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don’t comment about it.”
Mourinho then revealed what he discussed with Vinicius during the stoppage in play, adding: “I told him that when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back.
“And then when he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black [Eusebio]. This club, the last thing it is is racist, so if in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.”
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