Tchouameni, Valverde stand in support of Vinicius after Benfica incident: ‘That cannot happen’ | OneFootball

It is ludicrous that in this day and age, overt racism still exists in elite football and that even the best players in the world cannot escape it.

What makes the story from last night more disturbing, however, is the fact that the racist slur came from an on-field opposition player.

Minutes after scoring his goal and pulling off an indecent celebration, the player was called a ‘monkey’ by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, and it is clear why the incident is receiving so much limelight and coverage.

Tchouameni’s view

Voraciously defending Vinicius Jr after the game, Aurelien Tchouameni called out Prestianni and relayed how and when he found out about what had happened.

“The truth is that this cannot happen. We’ve been told that the kid called him ‘m**key’ while covering his mouth with his shirt.”

“Then he says he didn’t say anything, that he said ‘fa**ots,’ but it doesn’t matter,” he added.

He then revealed Vinicius’ brave decision and how he put the team first even in that difficult situation.

“We spoke as a team and Vini told us that we had to keep playing. I don’t know what to say. We’ll talk about it. That cannot happen.”

He then revealed the conversation Alvaro Arbeloa had with the team at the time, saying,

“If there’s a problem, as a team we walk off. But we talked about it and decided we had to keep playing. We did, and we won. Now on to the Bernabeu.”

The midfielder then spoke on how playing away at Benfica is very difficult and challenging, saying,

“It’s very difficult to play here. With their fans, the team. The first 15 minutes are very tough, but we played a good match.”

“Very united, which is the most important thing. If we continue like this, we’ll win many matches. winning duels, recovering balls,” he added.

Finally, he praised Mbappe and Vinicius for their workrate off the ball.

“The truth is that starting with Vini and Kylian up front is an example. With their quality we can achieve a lot. We’re going to win many matches.”

Valverde’s words

Valverde spoke out in support of Vinicius. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde also spoke to the media after the game and addressed the elephant in the room first.

“We don’t know exactly what he said. According to close teammates, they heard something very ugly. Many people have been fighting against this for years. Vinicius is one of them.”

“It’s shameful that with so many cameras it can’t be recorded if you cover your mouth to say something. We’re proud of Vinicius and of his great performance,” he added.

Speaking on the team’s decision to walk off the field in support of the player, Valverde said,

“The insult is something very serious. It has happened many times already.”

“As teammates, we have to help and support him. I doubt that there isn’t a camera that saw it,” he added.

Finally, he praised the team for the performance and spoke about the upcoming second leg.

“We have to focus on the match. Vinicius and Mbappé helped us a lot defensively and with spectacular plays.”

“If we all run that little bit extra to press, recover, defend, everything becomes much easier. For everything,” he added.

Source: MARCA