Official: Benfica issue statement defending player over alleged racism against Vinicius | OneFootball

Last night witnessed one of the most unsavoury incidents in football as Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. was allegedly called a racist slur by Benfica talent Gianluca Prestianni.

While the cameras did not catch what was said, because the Argentine was covering his mouth with his shirt, Kylian Mbappe did not hold back when speaking to the media after Real Madrid’s win over the Portuguese giants, clearly showing his disgust at the Benfica player.

He maintained complete respect for Benfica and their manager but condemned the slur initiated by Gianluca Prestianni, even calling for his exclusion from the competition as punishment.

Mbappe claimed to have been a witness to the incident, stating that he heard the player calling Vinicius a m**key multiple times.

Since then, Vinicius, too, has issued an official statement confirming what went down, and has received an outpour of support from across the globe.

Benfica defend their player

However, in what can only be termed as shameful behaviour, Benfica have now come out on their social media to defend their player and subtly accuse the Real Madrid stars of lying.

Along with a short clip of the incident from a certain angle, they put up a caption clarifying that it was impossible for any Real Madrid player to have heard, let alone confidently confirm what had been said.

“As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard,” the official caption reads.

While the story is crystal clear from Los Blancos’ perspective, Prestianni and Benfica insist that the player did not say what Real Madrid players claim to have heard, and thus are trying to push the blame on Vinicius for mishearing the words.

Yet, matters appear convincingly favourable to Real Madrid, especially given how the Benfica star ensured to block his mouth when talking so as to avoid any possibility of it being caught on camera.

It remains to be seen how the matter is taken forward and whether or not UEFA and FIFA launch any investigation or action against the Benfica star. Needless to say, one can expect the upcoming second leg to have as much fire and punch.