Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has warned that Gianluca Prestianni will be shown the exit if he is found guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.
Prestianni is under investigation following allegations made by Vinicius Jr during the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie last month. Mourinho initially faced criticism for his immediate response, in which he suggested Vinicius Jr provokes his opponents and refrained from condemning Prestianni.
Now, the former Manchester United manager has taken a firm stance. “If my player does not respect these principles, which are mine and Benfica’s, then that player’s career with a coach named Jose Mourinho and at a club named Benfica will come to an end,” the 63-year-old said.
“I am not a scholar, but I am not ignorant either. 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 same way again, and with me, it’s over. But I have to put many ‘ifs’ in front of it.”
This marks a significant shift from Mourinho’s tone last month after Benfica’s defeat to Real Madrid, a match in which he was also sent off. At the time, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport: “These talents are able to do beautiful things, but unfortunately he [Vinicius Jr] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”
When asked if Vinicius Jr incited the crowd, Mourinho responded: “Yes. I believe so. But the words exchanged between Gianluca Prestianni and Vinicius, I want to remain independent on that.”
Mourinho also defended Benfica against accusations of racism, citing club legend Eusebio, and noted that Vinicius Jr has been subjected to abuse in other stadiums. “I told him [Vinicius]—when you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back. The biggest person in the history of this club was black. This club, the last thing it is, is racist,” he said.
“I want to be independent and not comment on who is right or wrong. Something is clearly wrong because incidents happen in every stadium where Vinicius plays. It was a good 50 minutes of football—a crazy goal—and then the game was over.”
