Gianluca Prestianni’s viral reaction to Vinicius Jr’s missed penalty against Manchester City quickly drew attention online, but the account behind the post was not actually his real X profile.
The confusion mattered because of the sensitive history involving the Benfica youngster and the Real Madrid forward earlier in this Champions League campaign.
That is why a four-emoji post ended up becoming a much bigger story than it might have otherwise.
Gianluca Prestianni’s rumored viral post after Vinicius Jr missed penalty explained
Vinicius Jr missed a penalty against Manchester City in Real Madrid’s Champions League game on March 11, and the post that went viral afterwards came from the X account linked here, not from an official account belonging to Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni.
The post itself contained only four emojis, two monkey emojis and two laughing emojis, which is why it immediately caused a stir online.
That distinction is important. Prestianni’s name was quickly attached to the reaction on social media, but the account sharing it was different, so it should not be presented as a verified post from the player himself.
The timing still made it explode online. Vinicius had missed from the spot in a high-profile Champions League match against City, and the emoji combination was always going to attract scrutiny given the wider context around both players.
Gianluca Prestianni and Vinicius Jr controversy before the viral post
The reason this went so viral is that Prestianni and Vinicius were already linked to a serious controversy from Benfica’s Champions League meeting with Real Madrid in Lisbon on February 17.
Vinicius reported alleged discriminatory abuse during that match, UEFA opened an investigation, and Prestianni was later suspended provisionally for the return leg while the case was reviewed.
Prestianni denied making a racist remark, and Benfica publicly defended him, while reports said he told UEFA he had used different insulting language instead.
Because the case was sensitive and already under formal scrutiny, anything appearing to mock Vinicius, especially with monkey emojis, was bound to trigger a strong reaction.
So the key point here is simple. The viral emoji reaction was widely linked to Prestianni, but the account in the post was not his real one, even though the previous controversy ensured it would still be interpreted in the worst possible light.
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