Gianluca Prestianni finally broke his silence on the racism allegations from Vinicius Jr. and other Real Madrid players, taking to social media hours after Benfica‘s 1-0 loss in the first leg of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League knockout phase playoffs.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vinicius Junior, who unfortunately misunderstood what he thought he heard. I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players,” Prestianni wrote in an Instagram story.
Vinicius left the field and the Benfica-Real Madrid game was temporarily stopped during the second half as the referee activated the racism protocol, with the Brazilian claiming that Prestianni racially abused him after his goal celebration.
Prestianni denies Vinicius, Real Madrid’s allegations
Prestianni covered his mouth with his jersey, so the cameras couldn’t reveal what he actually said. However, several Real Madrid teammates said they also heard a racist comment toward Vinicius.
Gianluca Prestianni via Instagram stories
Aurelien Tchouameni revealed the alleged racist slur used by Prestianni was “m*nkey,” something Kylian Mbappe echoed when addressing the media in Lisbon. The Frenchman was visibly furious at the Argentine during the heated incident, and Mbappe even went on to call for Prestianni to be banned from the Champions League.
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The 20-year-old midfielder did get some support from Benfica coach Jose Mourinho, who addressed Vinicius’ racism allegations with a comment defending the club’s values while questioning the Brazilian’s goal celebration.
Right now there are two sides to the story. While Vinicius and Real Madrid are sure of what they heard, Prestianni insists that the allegations are false. UEFA is now expected to investigate the incident to determine how to proceed.
