Real Madrid’s latest 1-0 UEFA Champions League win against Benfica was marred by an alleged racist incident involving superstar forward Vinicius Junior. Benfica have now suggested that the Brazilian and his clubmates misheard during the continental clash.
Benfica’s Stance on Recent Real Madrid Racism Incident Revealed
Earlier this Tuesday, Feb. 17, Real Madrid traveled to Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz for the second time in over three weeks. They registered a 1-0 victory following Vinicius’ 50th-minute goal and inflammatory celebration in front of a section of Benfica supporters.
After he was shown a yellow card for taunting the home fans, the Los Blancos forward was seen approaching referee Francois Letexier. He issued a complaint against Benfica attacker Gianluca Prestianni, who had allegedly called him a monkey after the goal.
Although Prestianni escaped any punishment on the pitch this Tuesday, UEFA has launched an investigation into the matter. However, Benfica has asserted that their player did not racially abuse the 25-year-old Real Madrid goalscorer in a recent social media post.
Posting a video of the incident on their official X account, Benfica asserted, “As the images demonstrate, given the distance (from Prestianni), the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
Meanwhile, Prestianni himself has denied aiming a racial slur at the Brazilian forward in the aftermath of the recent contest’s solitary goal. “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard… I was never racist with anyone,” the 20-year-old Benfica star wrote on Instagram.
MORE: UEFA Issues Statement After Vinicius Junior Racism Allegations
However, Vinicius’ teammate, Kylian Mbappe, has a different opinion. The French striker accused Prestianni of being a ‘racist’ in a post-match interview, saying, “What I saw is very clear… Benfica’s number 25 said five times to Vini, ‘You are a monkey’. Everyone can have their opinion, but this behavior is unacceptable. This is terrible for world football.”
“I called him racist because I think he is. He tried to hide behind his shirt but his face didn’t lie. This type of person is not a professional colleague… a young player like him can’t have the freedom to say things like this on a football field. It’s a big problem, and we’ll see what happens,” Mbappe, who provided the assist for Vinicius’ latest goal, concluded.
Vinicius, who has produced 22 goal involvements in 35 total club matches this campaign, is next set to be in action against Osasuna in a La Liga clash on Saturday, Feb. 21.
