Benfica used social media to defend Prestianni and even question the version of the Real Madrid players, who, according to the red and black club, were not close enough to hear what was said to Vinícius Júnior.
Benfica is calling into question the version of Real Madrid football players, such as Mbappé, given the distance they were from the Brazilian Vinicius Júnior and Prestianni, when they mention that they heard the .
“As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players cannot have heard what they are saying they heard,” said the Lisbon club on the social network Twitter, in a statement accompanied by a video.
In the images, Vinicius is outside the midfield circle, to restart the game, after the Merengues’ goal, in the 50th minute, and it is at that moment that Prestianni covers his mouth and, allegedly, speaks to the Brazilian international.
The incident happened very quickly, when the players were already in the center of the field, after Vinicius’ goal, and after exchanging words with Prestianni, the ‘canarinho’ striker ran towards the referee to complain.
The match was interrupted, with the referee signaling a possible racist situation and Vinicius Júnior still sat on the bench, before the game resumed 10 minutes later.
In the end, Kylian Mbappé came to Vinicius Júnior’s defense and said that Prestianni “no longer deserves to play in the Champions League”.
Early in the morning, the ‘reds’ published the video to illustrate that Mbappé is not telling the truth, and also a message of support for their player: “Together, by your side”, with a photo of the Argentine winger, accompanied by a text from Prestianni.
The ‘red’ footballer states that “at no time” did he direct racist insults at Vinicius Júnior, adding that the Brazilian player misunderstood what he said to him.
“I have never been racist and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players,” the winger wrote on the social network Instagram.
The incidents took place on Tuesday, at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, with Real Madrid beating Benfica 1-0, with Vinicius’ goal, in the 50th minute, in the first leg to reach the round of 16 of the Champions League.
After scoring the goal, Vinicius Júnior celebrated in a provocative tone for the ‘red’ fans and with words for the Benfica players, which is why he was warned with a yellow card by French referee François Letexier.
