LISBON.- The coach of Benfica, Jose Mourinhoclarified on Sunday his position on the accusations of racism against his player Gianluca Prestianniprovisionally suspended by the UEFAby ensuring that, if the facts are confirmed, the Argentine will not play with him again.
“The presumption of innocence is a right. But I have to put many ‘ifs’ ahead (…) As a citizen, I reject any form of prejudice or idiocy. If, and I repeat, if my player has not respected these principles, which are mine and those of Benfica, his career with a coach called José Mourinho and in a club like Benfica has ended,” the coach declared at a press conference.
Temporarily suspended by UEFA after being accused by several players of the real Madrid of having insulted the Brazilian Vinicius Calling him a “monkey” in the first leg in Lisbon, Prestianni, who denies the accusations, was unable to play in the second leg of the playoff for access to the round of 16 of Championswon 2-1 by the meringues, who eliminated Benfica.
The tie was marked by the events that occurred in Lisbon.
After scoring the only goal of the game, Vinicius celebrated it with a dance in a corner and then reported that he received racist insults from Prestianni, although there are no images that can confirm it because the Argentine covered his mouth with his shirt when he had the conversation with the Brazilian.
Despite there being no conclusive evidence, UEFA decided to provisionally suspend Prestianni, something that was celebrated by the French midfielder of Real Madrid, Aurélien Tchouaménias a victory “against racism.”
They defend their own
Until now, Benfica has always defended the Argentine midfielder, ensuring that “he is not racist” and that he had apologized to his teammates for the incident.
After that first leg, in which he also ended up being sent off, Mourinho seemed to justify Prestianni’s attitude and accused Vinicius of having provoked the players and the Portuguese fans with his celebration.
