UEFA wants to send a clear message that racism is not allowed in football. The organization has suspended Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for the second-leg match of the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on February 25.
According to Kaveh Solhekol, Senior Journalist at Sky Sports, Wednesday’s match is a very important game. He explained that it would have been difficult and tense for both players to face each other again after serious accusations were made.
“This has happened in less than a week. Like in what , six days UEFA have moved very quickly. I think most people would say that this is a sensible decision because it would have been quite an extraordinary situation.
“If on Wednesday evening, you had Vinicius Junior potentially coming up against Pristianni. The player he has accused of racially abusing him in this really important Champions League game at the Burnout”.
As Prestianni remains suspended, the investigation is still ongoing. UEFA has appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to examine the incident, and the investigation is expected to take around three weeks to complete.
If the 20-year-old is found guilty of making a racial slur toward Vinicius Junior during last week’s match, which led to the game being halted for 10 minutes, he could face a suspension of at least 10 matches under UEFA’s disciplinary regulations.
Kaveh Solhekol also spoke about Jose Mourinho, who chose to exercise his right as a manager not to speak to the media.
“Jose Mourinho was at the center of a media storm after the game on Tuesday night because in his post-match press conference, he seemed to suggest that somehow Vinicius Jr himself was part to blame for some of the racist abuse that he’s been subjected to.
“He seemed to question the way Vinicius Junior celebrates his goals or behaves during matches. And he also said that Benfica were not a racist club”.
Benfica’s assistant coach Joao Tralhao will be addressing the media on behalf of Mourinho at the press conference room.
