Wesley Sneijder receives 4,000 death threats after defending Vinicius Junior | OneFootball

Wesley Sneijder reveals death threats after defending Real Madrid star

Wesley Sneijder receives 4,000 death threats after defending Vinicius Junior

Reactions continue to grow after the racism incident involving Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s Champions League match against Benfica in Lisbon.

The incident occurred during first leg of Champions League round of 16 play-off, played at Estadio da Luz.

Although more than week has passed, the issue remains central as the two team meet again at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.

UEFA acts as investigation continues

On Tuesday UEFA announced one-match suspension for Gianluca Prestianni meaning the Benfica forward will miss the return match against Real Madrid.

The suspension comes while UEFA’s disciplinary committee continues its investigation into claims that Prestianni directed racist insult toward Vinicius Junior during first leg.

The case remains open and further decisions could follow once the inquiry is completed.

Following the incident many football figures showed public support for Vinicius Junior. However the reaction has also taken darker turn.

According to La Tribuna, former Real Madrid and Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder received death threats after defending Vinicius and criticizing Prestianni.

Speaking on Ziggo Sport where he works as a pundit, Sneijder said he received more than 4000 threatening messages on social media.

Sneijder stated that he was shocked by the scale of the reaction stressing that expressing opinion should never lead to violence or intimidation.

“This Story will not End Quickly”

The former midfielder did not hide his anger toward the Benfica player. Sneijder said that if Prestianni were his teammate, he would be extremely upset adding that this case is unlikely to fade away soon.

He also claimed that even players inside Benfica believe Vinicius was not inventing the accusation. According to Sneijder, the fear was visible on Prestianni’s face during the incident suggesting he knew he had made a serious mistake.