Official: Benfica deny reports claiming Prestianni admitted calling Vinicius a ‘monkey’ | OneFootball

Just a while back, reports emerged in Portugal which startlingly claimed that Benfica youngster Gianluca Prestianni had admitted to his teammates that he had called Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. a monkey.

However, Benfica have quickly come out with an official statement denying those claims, instead stating that the Argentine had only apologised to his teammates and not admitted to using any racist slur.

“Sport Lisboa e Benfica categorically denies that player Prestianni communicated to the squad or the club’s management that he had uttered a racist insult against Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr.,” the statement read.

Prestianni is under investigation for alleged racist abuse against Vinicius. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“As has already been made public, the player apologised to his teammates for the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid, regretting its magnitude and consequences and assuring everyone, as he has done from the very beginning, that he is not racist.”

Prestianni missed the second leg of the Champions League knockout playoff tie against Real Madrid last night as he was handed a one-match provisional ban by UEFA, even as they continue to investigate the incident.

Should he be found guilty of racist abuse towards the Real Madrid forward, the Argentine could be banned for as many as ten matches.