Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni has admitted in UEFA's investigation to calling Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior with a homophobic slur during their UEFA Champions League playoff game earlier this week at the at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. The incident took place in the 55th minute of the game, just after Vinicius scored for Real Madrid.
After his curled effort gave Real Madrid the lead, Vinicius was booked for an excessive celebration. It was at that time when the Brazilian international was confronted by Prestianni, who lifted his shirt into his mouth and said something to Vinicius.
The Real Madrid star immediately complained the alleged racial abuse to referee Francois Letexier, who halted the game for close 11 minutes, thus activating FIFA’s antiracism protocols. According to an ESPN report, Prestianni gave his evidence in front of the UEFA's investigation team.
The report stated that the 20-year-old Argentinian admitted to call Vinicius the anti-gay slur “m*****” in Spanish and rejected claims of calling him “mono”, which means monkey in Spanish. The La Liga giants also have sent all the available evidence to he UEFA as a part of the probe.
What did Vinicius' Real Madrid teammates say?
After the game, Vinicius' Real Madrid teammates Aurélien Tchouaméni told media that Prestianni has given an explanation when confronted. Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe also informed that he personally heard Prestianni racially abuse Vinicius five times.
“I heard it,” Mbappe had said, as quoted by ESPN. “There are Benfica players that also heard it.” Real Madrid head coach Álvaro Arbeloa also called for a required punishment for Prestianni, which he thinks could be a turning point in a fight against racial abuse in the game of football.
What does football laws say?
According to Article 14 of UEFA's disciplinary regulations, Prestianni might face a 10-match ban or a specific period of time for both racist and anti-gay abuse in a game o football. "Any entity or person subject to these regulations who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at least ten matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction," the regulations say.
Not just Prestianni, but Benfica might also face fines. The club could face further scrutiny as online clips of their supporters went viral showing monkey gestures. The UEFA's disciplinary commission will rule its verdict after assessing all the evidences and the inspectors report.
