Amid the racism case involving Prestianni against Vinícius Júnior, which led to the interruption of Real vs Benfica for 10 minutes, the Portuguese club released a video defending the Argentine midfielder, contesting Real Madrid's version.
In the footage released by Benfica, the moment when the two players cross paths is shown, followed by the Brazilian's reaction, who runs towards the referee to make the complaint.
The argument of Benfica's defense focuses on the distance between the athletes. The club claims that, "as the images show, given the distance, the Real Madrid players did not hear what they are saying they heard," suggesting that it would be impossible for Vini's teammates to have heard any offense.
The French star even defended his teammate on the field.
Repercussions and statements:
- Support for Prestianni: Benfica expressed support for their player, sharing a statement from the athlete himself, who denies the accusations: "I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at player Vinícius Júnior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he believes he heard." The club added the message: "Together, by your side."
- Vini Jr. vents: On social media, the Real Madrid forward fired: "Racists are cowards who have to put their shirts over their mouths."
- Mourinho cautious: Benfica coach José Mourinho commented on the incident with caution: "I spoke with both, Vinícius tells me one thing and Prestianni another. I don't want to say 100% that I only believe Prestianni, but I also can't be naive and say that Vinícius told me the truth."
- Criticism of Vini's stance: Despite praising the Brazilian's quality ("He's a player from another world"), Mourinho criticized his attitude towards the fans: "The only thing I say is you can't mess with 60,000 people. Why not celebrate like Eusébio or Pelé?" For the coach, if Vini had just celebrated with his teammates, "the game would have ended there."
Mourinho's expulsion
Regarding the red card he received, Mourinho assured he only told the "truth" to the referee, accusing him of wanting to manage the next game by sparing cards for Real Madrid players who were at risk: "I know he knew that Huijsen, Tchouaméni, and Carreras couldn't get a yellow... He sent me off, but he knows I told the truth."
Mourinho was also asked if he thought Vinicius had incited the home crowd with his celebrations and said: “Yes. I believe so."
So, the words they exchange, Gianluca Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I saw two completely different things. I want to be independent and not comment on it. I told him [Vinicius Jr]. I told him: 'when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and go back.' When he was discussing racism, I told him that the greatest personality [Eusébio] in this club's history was black. This club is anything but racist. If in his mind there was something related to that, that's on Benfica. They [Vinicius Jr and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don't believe one or the other. I want to be independent.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.