Benfica have denied that Real Madrid players could have heard the alleged racist abuse towards Vinícius Júnior.
Vinícius sensationally scored the only goal in Tuesday night’s Champions League tie at the Estádio da Luz but, during his celebrations, became embroiled in a spat with Benfica players including Gianluca Prestianni, accusing him of racism.
Vinícius ran towards the referee after Prestianni, whose shirt was covering his mouth, appeared to say something to him.
Vinícius’ Madrid teammates leapt to his defence.
The 20-year-old Argentina forward faces a potential 10-match ban if found guilty of racial abuse in UEFA’s disciplinary code. The European football governing body said Wednesday it has appointed a special investigator to gather evidence.
However, Benfica’s official account on X posted a statement claiming they could not have heard the alleged incident.
“As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard,” the Benfica account said in the aftermath of the game.
Federico Valverde had previously said: “According to teammates who were nearby, they heard something very nasty.”
Kylian Mbappé also insisted that Prestianni had racially abused Vinícius.
Mbappé defended Vinícius after the game, and told Spanish TVE: “There’s Benfica’s No. 25, I don’t want to say his name because he doesn’t deserve to be named, that started speaking badly.
“Then he pulled his jersey up to here [covering his mouth] to say that Vini is a monkey five times. I heard it. There are Benfica players that also heard it.
“I have maximum respect for Benfica, for their coach [José Mourinho], one of the best in history, that is part of Real Madrid’s history,” Mbappé said.
“But this player [Prestianni] doesn’t deserve to play this competition. We have to give the best example to youngsters, if we let this go, then the values of football serve for nothing, everything we believe in is for nothing. We have to do something.”
Mbappé later defended Vinícius’ defence on his social media, writing on X: “[Dance] Vinícius and please never stop. They will never tell us what we have to do or not.”
Vinícius has previously been targeted with racist abuse by opposing fans since arriving in Spain from Brazil in 2018, with some abusers prosecuted and convicted in Spanish courts.
“It’s not the first time that Vini has experienced a case like this,” Mbappé said. “I really hurt for him…
“There’s always people that defend it by saying that he talks, that he provokes. Has Vini provoked in his career? Possibly. Has he done bad things in his career? Possibly.
“But he’s never going to deserve something like this. I can’t understand how there are people that tell me that he deserves this. Those are people that have never experienced or will be never experience this and that’s why they speak like that. I will never think that there is a human being who deserves this kind of treatment.”
Aurélien Tchouaméni told Movistar. “Vini told us the guy called him a monkey.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold was on the other side of the pitch when the alleged episode happened but he told CBS Sport after the game: “I think when you see something like that [the referee activating a racism protocol] you know it’s something serious, a serious incident and that’s what has happened.
“What has been reported is a disgrace to football. It’s a disgrace to the sport, a disgrace in society as well. There’s no place for it. It’s ruined the night for everyone.
“We hope that there is an investigation and that justice will be served to the player.”
Alexander-Arnold praised Vinícius for reporting the alleged abuse, which Prestianni has denied.
“Vini has reacted the right way, he’s done the right thing, he’s reported it,” the England international said.
“As a player that’s all you can do. As a team, as a club, we support him.
“Vini has had incidents like this before, he’s been subjected to this numerous times in his career. He’s experienced this before. He’s gone through something very disappointing tonight. He’s handled it right.
Vinícius called Prestianni a “coward” in a social media post after the game.
Prestianni posted his own reaction, saying: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at Vinícius Júnior; he unfortunately misinterpreted what was said. I have never been racist towards anyone.”
Benfica boss José Mourinho was critical of Vinicius’ celebration after his goal, which preceded the incident with Prestianni.
“Something’s not working,” Mourinho said. “Vinícius scored a fantastic goal. Why didn’t he celebrate like Eusebio, Pelé, or Di Stéfano?”
– Jose Mourinho critical of Vinícius: ‘Celebrate like Pele’
– Vinícius Júnior accuses ‘coward’ Prestianni of racist abuse
– Real Madrid learned lesson from Champions League loss to Benfica
Mourinho also told Movistar: “Vinícius says one thing, and Prestianni says another. I don’t want to say that I 100% support Prestianni, but I also can’t say that what Vinícius told me is the truth. I can’t, I don’t know.”
The second leg of the Champions League knockout tie is next week at the Bernabéu. Mourinho will be suspended after he was sent off in the 85th minute of Tuesday’s first leg.
