LISBON (PORTUGAL) (ITALPRESS) – “Our club could never have racist players on the team,” said Benfica president Rui Costa in an interview at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, shortly before the Portuguese club’s departure for Madrid for the second leg of the Champions League play-offs.
These comments came after a first-leg match in which Argentine player Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racist insults towards Vinicius Jr. “We have filed an appeal because nothing has been proven yet,” the Portuguese said, as reported by Record, “but this does not justify the player’s absence from this match. We also expected UEFA to examine the other incident at Da Luz, the one involving Valverde, who should have been excluded from this match for attacking one of our players.”
Among the many questions regarding last week’s match, he was also asked whether, in his opinion, Vinicius had lied, with the former player further defending the Argentine, “I believe my player, he is labeled a racist, but I can guarantee that he is not.”
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
