Eládio Paramés on Benfica-Real Madrid controversy: It made me laugh... | OneFootball

Eládio Paramés responded with irony to the criticism and condemnations of Gianluca Prestianni - who has been going through days of distress. The close friend of José Mourinho, although he does not tolerate the obvious racist demonstrations coming from the stands, believes that the "facts" should be reviewed by the relevant entities.

"What I saw in the stands of the stadium made me cry, seeing part of the crowd tarnish the name of a club like Benfica, where many of its greatest stars had dark skin, like Eusébio, the Black Panther. But it made me laugh to see, hear, and read so many condemning Prestianni", he began in his opinion piece published by the newspaper 'Record'.

José Mourinho's close friend did not leave out a certain variable: "The racist demonstrations were evident and for that reason I hope the leaders take measures to severely punish those who offended the Real Madrid player. But the question I ask them is simple: did you hear the Argentine player call Vini 'mono'?"

To support his argument, Eládio Paramés raised some questions: "Or do you assume that, just because he had his shirt in front of his mouth, he directed racist words at the Brazilian? Or do you blindly believe the statement of a teammate who said he heard the Argentine call Vini 'monkey' five times, even though he was far from him?”

Concluding his opinion, Eládio Paramés made his position very clear: “What I demand and what should be demanded is that the facts be investigated by FIFA, UEFA, the League and, obviously, also by Benfica and, once these are established and the offense is proven, the deserved punishment should be applied. Which I hope will be severe. Until then, I am in favor of the presumption of innocence and therefore do not condemn anyone.”

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