Four days after UEFA opened an investigation into the racial slur Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni allegedly aimed at Vinicius Junior on Tuesday night, La Liga confirmed that they were looking into a fresh incident which saw Osasuna fans appear to chant “Vinicius, die” during Saturday’s league clash with Real Madrid.
It has been a deeply difficult week for Vinicius Jr, but, tragically, not an unfamiliar one.
The chants at El Sadar represent the 27th separate incident of racial abuse directed at Real Madrid’s star forward which have been logged by La Liga since October 2021.
Vinicius Jr was booed as soon as he stepped off Madrid’s team bus for the weekend league match and found himself subjected to calls of “tonto”—fool—and “Vinicius, balon de playa”—Vinicius, beach ball, which is a jibe at the Ballon d’Or he lost to Manchester City midfielder Rodri in 2024. Regrettably, that is standard fare for the 25-year-old during away trips in Spain. Yet, chants of “Vinicius, muerete”—Vinicius, die—represent a escalation which has inspired action from La Liga.
Spain’s top flight revealed after the conclusion of a 2–1 defeat for Real Madrid—which came in spite of Vinicius Jr’s second-half equalizer—that they were investigating the incident. As ever, past precedent is not on the player’s side.
Vinicius Jr All Too Familiar With Systemic Failings
In February 2023, following a 2–0 win for Real Madrid at Osasuna’s home ground, a video on social media showed one fan of the hosts shouting “at least the f---ing Black didn’t score.” A complaint was filed by La Liga but the court in Pamplona—where Osasuna is based—dismissed the case in 2024 due to the “impossibility of identifying the perpetrator.”
Saturday’s match wasn’t even the first time that El Sadar had been heard chanting “Vinicius, die.” The same complaint was made following a game in March 2024. A section of the crowd was captured making these remarks on TV yet the incident was left out of the referee’s match report. Real Madrid accused the official, Juan Martínez Munuera, of “negligence” but the Spanish football federation sided with the referee who “can only include in his report those incidents which occurred on the field of play.”
Osasuna denied the occurrence of any racist chants and condemned the insults which had been made “by a minority” of supporters.
Gianluca Prestianni’s Agent Denies Reports of UEFA Testimony
Benfica’s Prestianni was accused of calling Vinicius Jr a monkey during the midweek Champions League clash in Lisbon—a claim which Kylian Mbappé fiercely supported and Prestianni denies.
Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni later revealed that Prestianni told Vinicius Jr’s teammates that he had been misheard. Instead of saying “mono” (monkey), he insisted he used a homophobic slur.
It was reported by ESPN that Prestianni used this same defense while providing evidence in UEFA’s investigation into the incident. The Argentine winger’s agent, Gastón Fernández, strongly refuted that claim.
“Everything published about what Gianluca Prestiani said during the UEFA investigation is untrue. No one has officially spoken to us about the expected sanctions regarding this incident,” Fernández told winwin.
“After Benfica’s statement, we no longer wish to pursue this matter. We have already clarified that what happened was not as they tried to portray it regarding Gianluca. From now on, our only concern is providing peace and reassurance to the player.”
Prestianni missed Benfica’s 3–0 league victory over AVS on Saturday due to an accumulation of yellow cards but is expected to be part of the squad for Wednesday’s Champions League second leg at the Bernabéu. Should he feature, Prestianni may be subjected to the type of hostility to which Vinicius Jr has grown so wearily accustomed.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as New Vinicius Jr Investigation Launched Four Days After Benfica Racism Scandal.
