Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has insisted that he is innocent of the racism charge levelled at him. Vinicius Junior accused him of using the racist insult ‘monkey’ during a Champions League clash, and UEFA followed through with a temporary ban, as they investigate the incident.
The images of Prestianni’s abuse for Vinicius traveled the world, but the Argentina winger claims that his abuse was homophobic rather than racist. The Brazilian’s story has been backed up by Kylian Mbappe though, who says that he heard Prestianni’s words.
During an interview with Telefe in Argentina, Prestianni maintained that he was punished unfairly.
“Luckily, I’m very calm because everyone who knows me knows what kind of person I am and that’s enough for me. I’m very grateful to the club as well, they believed in me and supported me in every way. My teammates showed me their support behind closed doors, and that means much more to me than posting an Instagram story.”
“Not playing the second leg hurt me a lot. I was punished for something I didn’t say. I was treated and sanctioned without proof. But it’s over now. I’m very grateful to the team and the Benfica coaching staff, who waited until the last minute to see if I could play. I’m really thankful for that.”
“I spoke with Mourinho, just like I did with my teammates, to reassure them that nothing had actually happened, because there were a lot of rumors outside and my teammates might have been confused.
This is despite the fact that UEFA could under their regulations hand out the same punishment for homophobia. Mourinho also came in for heavy criticism for his role in blaming in Vinicius for the alleged racial abuse.
Prestianni has since been accused of homophobia, but his perspective is that it is acceptable in Argentina, and thus saw no issues with the use of the insult.
“I’ve had teammates of the same skin colour as Vinicius, and nothing ever happened with any of them, quite the opposite. Then they started calling me homophobic too, which was too much. It felt like people were just trying to create drama over things that weren’t true. For us Argentinians, words like “maricon” [f*****] or “cagón” [s***bag] are common insults. But thankfully the team and the coaching staff supported me, so that gave me peace of mind.”
If anything, Prestianni seemed to feel being called a racist was more offensive than the homophobic abuse he was dishing out.
“Mbappe calling me “f***ing racist?” You’re insulting someone by calling them racist when I never have been and never will be. Obviously, he was trying to get under my skin during the match. I never wanted to react, and I won’t react.”
The UEFA investigation into the incident remains ongoing, but Prestianni is at risk of a ten-game ban if he is found guilty of discriminatory language. Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa challenged UEFA to prove that their campaign against racism was more than just words with their punishment, choosing to stand by Vinicius’ assertions as the veritable account.
