Prestianni speaks out on social media amid Benfica–Real Madrid controversy | OneFootball

Gianluca Prestianni denied calling Vinícius Jr a monkey, or any other racist insult, during the Benfica - Real Madrid (0-1), the first leg of the 'play-off' for access to the Champions League round of 16. In a message posted on Instagram, the Benfica midfielder said that the Brazilian winger "misinterpreted" the words and added that he was "threatened" by players from the Spanish club - which saw Mbappé also comment on the case.

"I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at Vinícius Júnior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thinks he heard. I have never been racist towards anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players," shared Benfica's number 25.

It should be noted that everything happened minutes after the Brazilian international scored the goal against Benfica. After the celebrations considered provocative, the number 7 of the merengues got involved in an exchange of words with Prestianni and then approached the match referee, François Letexier, where he reported that the Argentine had called him a 'monkey'.

It is worth mentioning that right after the game, the Brazilian forward also used Instagram to talk about the case, accusing Prestianni of cowardice and complaining about UEFA's protocol. “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirt in their mouth to show how weak they are. But they have, alongside them, the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish."

"I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. Still not understanding why that happened. On the other side, just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don't like to appear in situations like this, even more so after a great victory, but it's necessary,” he further emphasized.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.