Benfica manager, José Mourinho, has pledged to take action against Gianluca Prestianni if the 20-year-old winger is found guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.
Prestianni is currently under investigation following allegations made by Vinicius Jr during the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie last month.
Mourinho faced criticism for his initial reaction, in which he suggested Vinicius Jr provokes opponents and refrained from criticizing Prestianni directly.
However, the former Manchester United boss has now issued a strong warning:
“If my player did not respect these principles, which are mine and Benfica’s as well, then that player’s career with a coach named José Mourinho and at a club named Benfica will come to an end,” the 63-year-old said.
He added: “I am not a scholar, but I am not ignorant either. The presumption of innocence is a human right, isn’t it? I stand by my opinion. If the player is indeed guilty, I will never look at him the way I looked at him before, and with me, it’s over. But I have to put many ‘ifs’ in front of it.”
This marks a stark departure from Mourinho’s tone last month, following Benfica’s defeat to Real Madrid—a match in which he was sent off. At the time, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport:
“These talents are able to do these beautiful things, but unfortunately he [Vinicius Junior] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
When asked whether he believed Vinicius Jr had provoked the crowd, Mourinho responded: “Yes. I believe so. Then the words that they exchanged, Gianluca Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent.”
Expanding further, Mourinho defended Benfica’s reputation, citing club legend Eusébio as proof that Benfica cannot be racist, while also noting that Vinicius Jr has faced abuse in other stadiums:
“I saw two completely different things. I want to be independent, and I don’t comment about it. I told him [Vinicius] exactly that. I told him—when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back. When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black. This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that—this in Benfica. They [Vinicius Jr and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be independent. There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. A stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens, always. Look, I am saying it was a good 50 minutes of football. I believe millions of people are watching around the world—a crazy goal and then game over.”
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