Jose Mourinho defends Benfica man against racism allegations – ‘Vinicius says one thing, Prestianni another’ | OneFootball

Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has defended Gianluca Prestianni against allegations of racism from Vinicius Junior, following Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League play-off. The Portuguese manager explained that he had heard two different sides of the same story, and was unable to take one side or another.

After celebrating his goal, Vinicius and Prestianni were involved in an argument, and the Brazilian then informed referee Francois Letexier that he had been called a monkey by Prestianni. The Benfica winger has since denied this to be the case, while Kylian Mbappe has backed up his teammate.

‘Vinicius says one thing, Prestianni another’

Speaking to the media after the game, Mourinho defended his player, explaining that he could not get behind either player.

“Regretful for what? I’ve spoken with both of them. Vinicius says one thing, and Prestianni says another. I don’t want to be ‘red’… and I don’t want to say that I 100% support Prestianni; but I can’t be ‘white’ and say that what Vinicius told me is the truth. I can’t, I don’t know; only that up until the goal, it was a great match,” he told Diario AS.

Image via Reuters

“Benfica started very well, and Real Madrid was very strong, but then they changed the game around the 30th or 35th minute. Then Vinicius scores a goal that only he or Mbappé can score. After that, he should have been carried off on his teammates’ shoulders and not upset 60,000 people in this stadium. That’s all I’m saying.”

Mourinho: ‘I don’t want to say Vinicius is a liar’

Mourinho went on to question why Vinicius was, in his view, going overboard with his celebrations, and winding up the crowd in the process.

“I already said it in the flash interview, and I’ve tried to be more balanced than Arbeloa and Mbappe. It’s not that I want to say Vinicius is a liar and mine is an incredible kid. They’ve gone down a different path. It happens in so many stadiums, and it’s always the same thing… Something’s not working. Vinicius scored a fantastic goal. Why didn’t he celebrate like Eusebio, Pele, or Di Stefano? Why didn’t he? The game was over with that play.”

The former Real Madrid manager pointed out that this was not the first time Vinicius has done so with opposition fans, shifting the focus onto his celebrations and away from the racism allegations.

Image via El Mundo

“It happens… In how many stadiums has this happened? In how many stadiums? How many? How many? He’s a player from another planet, I love him. But you score a goal like this… well, you leave on your teammates’ shoulders. Game over, that’s it, game over…”

Mourinho’s conversation with Arbeloa

During the 10-minute delay following the activation of the anti-racism protocol, Mourinho was also seen conversing with opposite number Alvaro Arbeloa. He revealed the contents of that conversation.

“I told Arbeloa that if he scored a spectacular goal, why is he acting the idiot in the corner?”

Mourinho was sent off late on for demanding that Vinicius be sent off for a second yellow, and will be suspended for the second leg. It deprives him of reunion at the Bernabeu for the first time as an opposition coach since he left in 2013.