Benfica manager José Mourinho rowed back on his previous criticism of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, insisting that he is not “ignorant” and promising to chase Gianluca Prestianni out of the club if he is proven guilty of racial abuse. Yet, that “if” was a crucial factor.
Not many covered themselves in glory during the bleak Champions League clash between Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon last month. Prestianni was accused of calling Vinicius Jr a “monkey”—an allegation he denies with the hardly watertight defense that he instead used a homophobic slur—while home fans in the Estádio da Luz were filmed delivering their own abuse to Madrid’s goalscorer.
