The affair caused a great stir. Last February, during the first leg of the Champions League play-off between Benfica and Real Madrid, Vinicius accused Gianluca Prestianni for uttering racist insults to him. The Brazilian, supported by Kylian Mbappé, cried foul.
Two months after the events, UEFA delivered its verdict. The Argentine striker was suspended for “ a total of six official club and/or national team matches in which he would normally have been able to participate. In the lot, there are three suspended matches. And a first match has already been served during the return play-off, for which the player was provisionally suspended.
Not racism, but…
Important precision, Gianluca Prestianni was sanctioned “ for discriminatory (i.e. homophobic) behavior.” The racist nature of his remarks was not accepted. The player thus assured that he had called Vinicius a “cagon” (“coward”, in Spanish) and a “maricon” (which is a little more insulting than “faggot”).
