Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior has strongly declared that ‘racists are cowards’ after accusing Gianluca Prestianni of directing racial abuse toward him during a heated Champions League encounter in Lisbon.
The 25-year-old reported alleged racist abuse by Prestianni to referee Francois Letexier during Madrid’s 1-0 win against Benfica on Tuesday.
The Champions League match was halted for 10 minutes, with both sets of players leaving the pitch shortly after Vinicius had given his side the lead.
The forward, who has been the victim of numerous incidents of racist abuse during his playing career, reacted strongly afterward.
He said in a post on Instagram: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are. 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.”
Champions League clash overshadowed by allegations and firm denials
Vini Jr stated: “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.”
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Meanwhile, Prestianni, 20, denied directing racial abuse to Vinicius Jr in a post on his social media.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” said Prestianni.
Benfica later defended their player, stating: “As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Uefa has confirmed it is investigating the alleged incident between both players.
Tags: Vinicius Jr, Champions League, Real Madrid, Benfica, Champions League knockout phase play-offs, #UCL, #HalaMadrid, Gianluca Prestianni, Francois Letexier.
