{"id":304954,"date":"2026-02-18T22:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/304954\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T22:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:03:14","slug":"gianluca-prestianni-issues-statement-after-being-accused-of-racially-abusing-vini-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/304954\/","title":{"rendered":"Gianluca Prestianni issues statement after being accused of racially abusing Vini Jr"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni issued a statement on social media after being accused of racially abusing Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. <\/p>\n

The Champions League knockout play-off tie between Real Madrid<\/a> and Benfica was halted for around 10 minutes in the second half<\/a> after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse to referee Francois Letexier.<\/p>\n

Letexier proceeded to make the crossed arms gesture to signal racist abuse following a conversation with the Brazilian, who left the field of play and sat in the Estadio da Luz dugout, refusing to play.<\/p>\n

Vinicius ran over to the official following an interaction with Gianluca Prestianni.<\/p>\n

After the full-time whistle, Vinicius<\/a> released a statement condemning the incident. “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are,” he wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

\"PrestianniPrestianni has been accused of racially abusing Vini Jr. Image credit: Getty<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old added: “I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.”<\/p>\n

A number of Vinicius’ teammates have reacted to the incident, including Kylian Mbappe<\/a>, who said Prestianni should be banned from the Champions League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We cannot accept that there is a player in Europe’s top football competition who behaves like this. This guy (Prestianni) doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” Mbappe told reporters.<\/p>\n

“We have to set an example for all the children watching us at home. What happened today is the kind of thing we cannot accept because the world is watching us.”<\/p>\n

Asked whether Prestianni had apologised, Mbappe replied: “Of course not”.<\/p>\n

Trent Alexander-Arnold also shared his feelings on the incident, saying: “I think what has happened tonight is a disgrace to football and overshadowed the performance, as well as an amazing goal.”<\/p>\n

He added: “Vini has been subject to this a few times throughout his career. To ruin a night like this for our team is a disgrace. There is no place for it in football or society. It is disgusting.”<\/p>\n

\"ViniciusVinicius Jr reported the incident to referee Francois Letexier. Image credit: GettyGianluca Prestianni releases statement after being accused of racially abusing Vinicius Jr. <\/p>\n

Taking to Instagram<\/a> in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Prestianni denied making a racist slur.<\/p>\n

“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” Prestianni wrote.<\/p>\n

“I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”<\/p>\n

Jose Mourinho accuses Vinicius Jr of inciting incident that led to alleged racist abuse<\/p>\n

Speaking in his post-match interview, Benfica boss Jose Mourinho was asked if he felt Vinicius incited the crowd.<\/p>\n

“Yes. I believe so,” he said. “It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”<\/p>\n

He continued: “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black.<\/p>\n

“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica. They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.”<\/p>\n

\"JoseJose Mourinho spoke about the incident in his post-match interview. Image credit: Getty<\/p>\n

Mourinho has received backlash following the interview, with Amazon Prime pundits Wayne Rooney, Clarence Seedorf and Theo Walcott condemning the comments.<\/p>\n

Rooney said: \u201cIt\u2019s very unfair what he\u2019s saying about Vinicius,” and Walcott added: “I love everything Jose Mourinho has done in football but I think he has made a poor decision in that sense.”<\/p>\n

Seedorf went on to claim that Mourinho made a “huge mistake by justifying racism”, adding: \u201cWe should never ever justify racist abuse. Mourinho would agree with me but he expressed himself unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n