Pep Guardiola issues passionate verdict on Vinicius Jr. racism incident from Benfica vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was asked about the alleged racism aimed at Vinicius Jr. in Real Madrid’s win over Benfica in the UEFA Champions League this week.

Matters on the pitch went out of hand at Estádio da Luz on Tuesday night after Vinicius Jr. alleged that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni aimed verbal racial abuse at him as part of a face-off on the pitch.

Cameras from the game have since shown Prestianni aiming words at the Real Madrid winger with his mouth hidden by his shirt, raising severe doubt over whether the nature of the abuse aimed at Vinicius Jr. was indeed racial in nature.

The on-pitch official halted proceedings and conducted an investigation before signalling for play to be continued, though the headlines in the aftermath of the UEFA Champions League play-off opening leg have been dominated by the unfortunate incident.

Formal enquiries are underway over the incident and high-profile figures such as Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe and Benfica manager Jose Mourinho have divided opinion with their respective backing and criticism of Vinicius Jr.

A victim of racial abuse in La Liga since his teenage days at Real Madrid, this is not the first time Vinicius Jr.’s footballing brilliance has been overshadowed by allegations of racial abuse on the pitch and in football stadiums.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with Newcastle United this weekend, Pep Guardiola was asked for his take on another incident of alleged racial abuse in football.

“Not for where you are born or your colour of skin makes you better or worse,” the Manchester City manager said on Friday afternoon.

“There’s a lot of work to do; it’s in society, it’s not just in football. Racism is everywhere and if you pretend racism is just for the colour of skin, it’s how you behave – that’s racism. It’s how you pretend you are better than others just for many reasons.”

Guardiola has been a passionate proponent for ending war atrocities across the globe in recent times and has publicly expressed his support for innocent victims in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and the United States.

The Manchester City manager is as experienced as it gets in the Premier League and having managed boyhood club Barcelona in Spain, the Catalan will know all too well the extent of racism that still permeates through football stadiums in Europe and the world at large.

Vinicius Jr. has previous broken down in tears in press conferences after suffering racism in the form of verbal slurs and monkey chants in football stadiums and the latest incident from Portugal serves as food for thought for everyone who has crossed a line when criticising a player based on the colour of their skin, religion, ethnicity, etc.