Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni denies racially abusing Vinicius Junior, claiming he was punished without evidence as UEFA investigates the incident.
BENFICA winger Gianluca Prestianni has claimed he was punished “without evidence” over accusations he racially abused Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.
The 20-year-old Argentinian made the comments in his first interview since the alleged incident during a Champions League match in February.
Prestianni was accused of making a racist insult towards the Brazilian while covering his mouth with his shirt. The referee stopped the match for 10 minutes and UEFA subsequently suspended the player for the second leg while opening an investigation.
If found guilty by UEFA, he faces a ban of at least 10 matches.
Speaking to Argentine broadcaster Telefe, Prestianni denied making any insult. He said missing the second leg in Madrid, which Real Madrid won 3-1 on aggregate to progress, “hurt a lot”.
“I was thinking about my father, my mother, my grandparents, about the fact that so many things were being said that don’t reflect who I am and that didn’t happen,” he said.
“It’s ugly and it hurts a lot.”
Prestianni said he was “very grateful” for the internal support from his club and teammates. He also described his coach, Jose Mourinho, as “a phenomenon”.
Mourinho faced criticism for initially suggesting Vinicius may have provoked the alleged abuse with his goal celebration.
The Benfica coach later clarified that if the racism accusations were confirmed, Prestianni would never play for him again.
Despite the controversy, Prestianni was recently called up by Argentina for friendlies. “I work day in, day out to make this opportunity arrive,” the winger said.
He added that his greatest dream is to play in a World Cup with the national team.
