Jose Mourinho was heavily criticized after accusing Vinicius Junior of inciting the Benfica crowd amid allegations that the Real Madrid star was subjected to a racial slur by Gianluca Prestiani.
Jose Mourinho has been criticized for his comments about Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior (Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has insisted he will not look at Gianluca Prestianni “in the same light” if he is found guilty of racial slurs against Vinicius Junior. Benfica winger Prestiani has been accused of making disparaging comments about the Real Madrid star during the first leg of the Champions League play-offs on February 17th.
The clash between the two sides caused the match to be delayed for 10 minutes as referee François Letexier initiated UEFA’s official anti-racism protocols. European football’s governing body handed Mr Prestiani a provisional one-match suspension, with ethics and discipline inspectors investigating the allegations further. He denies racial abuse against Brazilians.
As a result, the 26-year-old has been suspended for Wednesday night’s Champions League second leg against Real. The Spanish giants won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu to move up 3-1 on aggregate.
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Mourinho was heavily criticized after accusing Vinicius Junior of inciting the crowd during his goal celebration before an alleged racist slur in the first leg. And he broke his silence on the criticism at the pre-match press conference before Benfica’s league match at Gil Vicente on Monday night.
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He said, “If he is truly guilty, I will no longer look at him the same way and it’s over. I categorically condemn all forms of discrimination and stupidity.”
“If my player does not respect me and Benfica’s principles, his career will end with me.”
Vinicius Jr. accuses Gianluca Prestiani of racist comments (Image: Getty Images)
Benfica also denied claims that Prestiani admitted to teammates that he had racially abused Vinicius Junior.
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“Sport Lisbon and Benfica categorically deny that Prestiani has communicated to the team or club organization that he has made racist insults towards Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior,” the statement said.
“As previously announced, the player apologized to his team-mates for the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid, deplored the scale and consequences of it and assured everyone, as he has done since the first hour, that he is not a racist.”
Mr. Prestiani publicly denied the allegations, saying the other party had “misunderstood.” If found guilty, he could be suspended for 10 games.
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