"Prestianni ban is unjustified and he is not racist": Benfica president speaks out ahead of Madrid trip | OneFootball

Rui Costa hits back at suspension decision

"Prestianni ban is unjustified and he is not racist": Benfica president speaks out ahead of Madrid trip

Benfica president Rui Costa defended Gianluca Prestianni after UEFA banned the midfielder for one match following incident with Vinicius Junior.

What happened in Champions League playoff

Benfica president Rui Costa has spoken publicly about the case involving Gianluca Prestianni who was temporarily suspended by UEFA after incident with Vinicius Junior.

UEFA announced on Monday that Prestianni would be banned for one match following allegations linked to racist comments during Champions League playoff first leg against Real Madrid.

As a result, the Argentine midfielder will miss the second leg on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Rui Costa defends his player

Speaking on Tuesday before Benfica traveled to Madrid, Rui Costa made it clear that the club does not agree with the suspension. Benfica go into the return leg 1-0 down after first match.

Costa said the club believes nothing has been proven against Prestianni and described his absence as unjustified. He stressed that Benfica fully trusts the player and rejects the accusation of racism.

The Benfica president added that the club is waiting for the investigation to be completed before drawing final conclusions.

“He is Not Racist”

Rui Costa insisted that Prestianni’s character should not be questioned. He explained that he was not on the pitch and could not know exactly what was said but underlined that the club believes the player’s version of events.

Costa said labeling Prestianni as racist is unfair and far from the truth, based on the club’s knowledge of the player and his behavior since joining Benfica.

Other incidents highlighted

During his comments, Costa also referred to what he described as a clear incident of aggression by Federico Valverde in first leg.