Benfica manager claims the Argentine must leave the club if found guilty of racist abuse, but warned the allegations have to be proved first
Jose Mourinho has warned that Gianluca Prestianni would have no future at Benfica if allegations of racial abuse made by Vinicius Junior are proven.
But that is the vital clause for the Benfica manager: if. They have to be proved first, said Mourinho.
Vinicius alleged he was racially abused by Prestianni during last month’s Champions League playoff in Lisbon, claims firmly denied by the 20-year-old Argentine midfielder.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Vinicius scored in the second half, prompting referee Francois Letexier to activate Fifa’s anti-racism protocol following discussions with the Real Madrid forward. The match was briefly halted while officials addressed the situation inside the stadium.
After the game, Mourinho defended the player, saying Benfica was not a racist club and citing that the club legend Eusebio is black.
He also accused Vinicius of being fond of stirring up trouble among crowds in stadiums, saying that “every stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens”.
The Benfica manager was subsequently ripped to shreds in the media and by football pundits and coaches, including Bayern Munich’s Vincent Kompany. He addressed the controversy again this week.
“I also say that if – and, I repeat, if – my player did not respect those principles [renouncing any type of discrimination or prejudice, of ignorance or idiocy], which are my principles and those of Benfica, too, then that player’s career under Jose Mourinho and at Benfica is over,” Mourinho said.
The Portuguese coach made clear that he was against any form of discrimination, but insisted the accused still retained the right to a fair hearing.
“Is the presumption of innocence a human right or not?” Mourinho asked. “If you want me to repeat my repudiation [of discrimination] 20 times, I will say it 20 times. But I continue with my ‘if’.
“Unfortunately, Uefa, to stop the player appearing in the match, discovered Article 426,328, which was there, hidden away, as a reason for suspending him.
“They went in that direction of not adding the ‘if’ that they should have. I continue with my ‘if’. If the player was actually culpable, I won’t look at him in the same way again. And with me, he’s done. But there are a lot of ‘ifs’ first.”
After opening formal disciplinary proceedings, Uefa also issued Prestianni with a provisional one-match suspension that ruled him out of the return leg in Madrid. Vinicius scored as the Spanish side won 2-1 to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Should the allegations against Prestianni be upheld, regulations allow for a minimum 10-match ban.
