According to reports, Gianluca Prestianni has already given evidence in UEFA's investigation into his alleged racist abuse of Vinicius Junior. He has made a new claim as he looks to explain what he actually said during Real Madrid's Champions League playoff game at Benfica.
The incident occurred after the Brazilian winger scored a fine goal against the Portuguese team in the first leg of their European play-off. Footage showed Prestianni covering his mouth as he appeared to speak directly at Vinicius Jr.
The Madrid star then immediately ran off to inform referee Francois Letexier, who consequently followed protocol to halt the game due to an alleged racist incident. The match paused for 10 minutes before eventually continuing, but there has been plenty of fallout since.
Prestianni Gives Evidence in UEFA's Investigation
Prestianni and Vinicius Jr
Prestianni and Vinicius Jr
Kylian Mbappe backed up Vinicius' claims, stating that he heard Prestianni call his teammate a 'monkey' on five occasions. The Frenchman has since called for the Benfica man to be banned from Champions League football.
The Argentine, however, has always denied all allegations against him. In an initial statement, he said: “I want to clarify that at no point did I direct racist insults at Vinicius Jr, who unfortunately misunderstood what he thought he heard. I have never been racist toward anyone."
As per ESPN, Prestianni has now looked to back up his position, but insists that he did not use racist language but instead insulted Vinicius with a homophobic term. They report that he has given evidence to UEFA stating that he called Vinicius the anti-gay slur "m------" in Spanish, rather than "mono," which is Spanish for monkey.
This appears to be the same story the 20-year-old has stuck to since the start. Indeed, speaking directly after the game, Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni told Spanish television that Prestianni had given that explanation when confronted about the incident, remarking: "Vini told us the Prestianni guy called him a monkey, but the Benfica player was saying he only called him a f*ggot."
Madrid are also said to have sent a dossier of "all available evidence" to UEFA as part of the probe.
Prestianni's Punishment if He's Guilty of Homophobic Insult
Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni in action with Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior
Prestianni's current insistence that he used homophobic language instead of a racist term has rightfully sparked a strong reaction online. Many furious fans have been quick to point out that insults relating to either have absolutely no place on the football field, and should see him punished either way.
One supporter summed up the sentiment, saying: "If this is confirmed, then it’s straightforward. Gianluca Prestianni must face punishment if he used a homophobic slur against Vinícius Junior because abuse is abuse, regardless of the category. At the same time, the investigation by UEFA must be fair and thorough."
Another added: "Absolutely disgusting. No place for hate in football—or anywhere."
It's understood that the Benfica star will face a minimum 10-game ban if found guilty of being racist. Interestingly enough, he will face the same punishment if it's decided that he was homophobic.
Article 14 of UEFA's disciplinary regulations states that the punishment framework for both racist and anti-gay abuse is the same. The regulations say:
"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."