"If Prestianni is to blame, that's it with me," says Mourinho | OneFootball

Benfica's coach, José Mourinho, clarified this Sunday his position regarding the racism accusations against his player Gianluca Prestianni, who was provisionally suspended by UEFA, stating that if the accusations are confirmed, the Argentine will never play under his command again.

“The presumption of innocence is a right. But I have to put many 'ifs' in front (…) As a citizen, I reject any type of discrimination, prejudice, and ignorance. If, I repeat many times… If my player did not respect these principles, which are mine and those of Benfica, his career with a coach named Mourinho and at a club like Benfica comes to an end,” declared the coach.

“If the player is indeed guilty, I will not look at him the same way again. And, with me, it's over,” assured José Mourinho.

Temporarily suspended by UEFA after being accused by several Real Madrid players of insulting the Brazilian Vinícius Júnior, calling him a “monkey” during the first leg in Lisbon, Prestianni, who denies the accusations, was unable to play the return leg of the Champions League playoff, which Real Madrid won 2-1, eliminating Benfica.

The game was overshadowed by the incidents that occurred in Lisbon.

After scoring the only goal of the match, Vini Jr. celebrated with a dance near the corner flag and later claimed to have received racist insults from Prestianni. There is no video evidence to confirm this version, as the Argentine covered his mouth with his shirt during the argument with the Brazilian.

Despite the lack of conclusive evidence, UEFA decided to provisionally suspend Prestianni, a measure celebrated by Real Madrid's French midfielder, Aurélien Tchouaméni, as a victory “against racism.”

Benfica has always defended the Argentine midfielder, stating that “he is not racist” and that he had already apologized to his teammates for the incident.

After the first leg, in which he was also sent off, Mourinho seemed to justify Prestianni's behavior and accused Vinícius of provoking the players and the Portuguese fans with his celebration.

*With content from AFP

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