The controversy surrounding Gianluca Prestianni and Vinicius Junior has taken a fresh twist with the Benfica man now alleging that he was insulted by the Real Madrid star, which prompted his reaction.
The two men clashed during the first leg of the Champions League play off round, soon after Vinicius has scored for Madrid. That goal was enough to give Los Blancos a 1-0 win on the night, but it was far from the only talking point.
Indeed, things kicked off when Prestianni covered his mouth and appeared to insult the Brazilian. Vinicius soon alerted the referee, stating that he had been racially abused and the game was momentarily called off, before eventually continuing.
There has since been a strong fallout with UEFA investigating the incident, with Kylian Mbappe among those to insist racist language was involved. The Frenchman claimed that he heard Prestianni use the word 'monkey' on multiple occasions.
Prestianni Said He Used Homophobic Term to Insult Vinicius
Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni in action with Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior
The Benfica man 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."
Prestianni has claimed that he used a homophobic term to insult Vinicius instead, saying the anti-gay slur "m------" in Spanish, rather than "mono," which is Spanish for monkey. Immediately after the match, 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."
It should be noted that UEFA will likely hand out a minimum 10-game ban if Prestianni is found guilty of being racist or homophobic. He has already been provisionally banned by UEFA from Wednesday's Champions League play-off second leg against Real in the Spanish capital.
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Prestianni to Tell UEFA he Was Insulted Over Height
Prestianni and Vinicius Jr
Prestianni and Vinicius Jr
Prestianni has looked to further his defence, however, by giving more context to the clash. According to reports, via the Times, the Argentine is set to claim that his Real Madrid opponent referred to him as a 'dwarf' or 'midget' during the match.
It's noted that the 20-year-old is one of the shortest male players in elite football at 5ft 5in tall, and his defence will reportedly be that he retaliated using homophobic language after being taunted about his height.
The article goes on to explain that insiders believe that this defence will be considered no excuse at all for using unacceptable racist language or discriminatory slurs. It's also mentioned that taunts about a player’s physical characteristics such as height, size of ears or baldness are not covered by the rules.