Benfica deny report Prestianni admitted racist abuse of Vini

"Benfica categorically denies that player Prestianni communicated to the squad or the club's management that he had uttered a racist insult against Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior. As has already been made public, the player apologised to his teammates for the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid, regretting its magnitude and consequences and assuring everyone, as he has done from the very beginning, that he is not racist."

"Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé gave an extensive account of what he had seen and heard to the media after the game, saying that he personally had heard Prestianni racially abuse Vinícius five times. I heard it. There are Benfica players that also heard it."

"ESPN has reported that Prestianni told UEFA investigators that he called Vinícius an anti-gay slur, rather than a racist slur. Last week's match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee installed the anti-racism protocol following Vinícius' complaint to him."

Benfica categorically denied reports that Argentinian winger Gianluca Prestianni confessed to racially abusing Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior. Portuguese media had claimed Prestianni admitted guilt to his teammates, but the club refuted this. Prestianni was provisionally suspended for the Champions League playoff after Vinícius alleged racial abuse during the first leg. Kylian Mbappé witnessed the incident and reported hearing Prestianni abuse Vinícius five times. ESPN reported Prestianni told UEFA investigators he used an anti-gay slur rather than a racist one. The match was halted for nearly 10 minutes to implement anti-racism protocol. Vinícius scored in Madrid's 2-1 second-leg victory, securing a 3-1 aggregate win.

Read at ESPN.com