Vinicius Jr racism row: Benfica's Prestianni rejects racial abuse claims, admits anti-gay slur to UEFA, says report

Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni has admitted in UEFA's investigation to calling Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior with a homophobic slur during their UEFA Champions League playoff game earlier this week at the at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. The incident took place in the 55th minute of the game, just after Vinicius scored for Real Madrid.

After his curled effort gave Real Madrid the lead, Vinicius was booked for an excessive celebration. It was at that time when the Brazilian international was confronted by Prestianni, who lifted his shirt into his mouth and said something to Vinicius.

The Real Madrid star immediately complained the alleged racial abuse to referee Francois Letexier, who halted the game for close 11 minutes, thus activating FIFA’s antiracism protocols. According to an ESPN report, Prestianni gave his evidence in front of the UEFA's investigation team.

The report stated that the 20-year-old Argentinian admitted to call Vinicius the anti-gay slur “m*****” in Spanish and rejected claims of calling him “mono”, which means monkey in Spanish. The La Liga giants also have sent all the available evidence to he UEFA as a part of the probe.

What did Vinicius' Real Madrid teammates say?