Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois defended teammate Vinicius Junior and congratulated him ahead of the second leg of the Champions League knockout stage against Benfica, saying he “did nothing wrong”.
Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestiani shortly after scoring the only goal in last week’s first leg in Lisbon.
Argentine winger Prestianni has denied the allegations but has been handed a provisional one-match ban by UEFA and will miss Wednesday’s second leg in Madrid.
However, he was seen training with the team on the Tuesday following the trip to Spain, with manager Jose Mourinho also taking part in the session, who was also suspended for the Bernabéu match.
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Cabe Solgecol has explained why Benfica’s Gianluca Prestiani traveled to Madrid despite being provisionally suspended by UEFA for allegedly racially abusing Vinicius.
The former Real Madrid manager defended his player after the incident and appeared to refer to past racist incidents involving Vinicius.
“It happens in every stadium, so there’s something wrong with it,” he said. “Something always happens in the stadium where Vinicius plays.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s game, Courtois was asked about the racism allegations and said his teammates had done nothing different towards Real Madrid’s opponents.
“Mourinho is Mourinho and as a coach he protects his club and what he is told by his players,” he said.
“What I was disappointed about was that we took advantage of Vini’s celebration. He didn’t do anything wrong. He celebrated, just like a lot of our opponents did against us, because the elation when they score against us doubles, triples.”
“It happened and we need to move on. Celebrations cannot justify alleged racist acts.”
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Sky Sports News’ Kabe Solgecol reacts to the news that Benfica’s Prestiani will be suspended for the second leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
Arbeloa: “Vinicius can do his best”
Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa called Vinicius a “fighter” and cheered him on in his return match at the Bernabéu to prove he is one of the best players in the world.
“Vini Jr. has always shown great courage and character,” he said. “You never know how someone in his situation would react. He has always acted bravely and shown great character.
“That’s always been his reaction and always will be, because he’s a fighter. Tomorrow he’s going to go out there and have a great fight and prove he’s one of the best fighters on the planet.”
He also called on UEFA to “seize this opportunity” to show it is serious about tackling racism, adding: “We face a golden opportunity to make significant progress in the fight against racism.”
“UEFA has always been a strong advocate of the fight against racism, but now they have an opportunity to go beyond just a pre-match slogan or a nice banner. I hope they seize this opportunity.”
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Manager Jose Mourinho will not speak to the media ahead of Benfica’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid after he was criticized for his handling of allegations of racist abuse against Vinicius last week.
Rui Costa: ‘Prestiani is not a racist’
After the suspension was announced, Benfica said they intended to appeal the decision “even if the timeline in question means it is unlikely to have a material impact on the second leg”.
UEFA announced that further disciplinary action could be taken against Prestiani following a thorough investigation by the Ethics and Discipline Inspectorate. He could be suspended for 10 games.
However, Benfica president Rui Costa insisted the 20-year-old winger was “not a racist”.
According to Benfica’s website, Costa told reporters on his way to Madrid: “I’m not on the pitch to find out what was said and what wasn’t said, but as you can imagine, a lot is said in a situation like this.”
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The Champions League finals match between Real Madrid and Benfica was suspended for 10 minutes after Vinicius initially refused to play after receiving racist remarks from Prestiani.
“But we believe what the players say, more than that because we know the players at home very well.
“Prestiani has been crucified as a racist, but I can guarantee you that he is not a racist. That is why we have so much faith in him as a player.
“We have lodged an appeal as we believe that nothing has been proven and therefore there is no valid reason for the player’s absence from this match.”
History of the Vinicius racism incident
Vinicius has previously spoken out about repeated racist abuse and said in 2024 that the abuse made him feel “even less willing to play football”.
That same year, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for racially abusing them during a match in May 2023, but the match was stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius Junior alerted the referee to a fan who appeared to have been abusive, in scenes reminiscent of the match against Benfica.
After the match, the Brazilian said La Liga “belongs to racism.” But La Liga president Javier Tebas hit back, saying Vinicius’ abuse was “manipulated”. Tebas later apologized for these comments.
In the Valencia incident, three supporters who committed racist behavior were also fined 5,000 euros and banned from sporting venues for one year. Valencia were fined 27,000 euros and their stadium was partially closed for three games.
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Prime Minister Clinton Morrison criticizes Mr Prestiani for covering his mouth over allegations of racist abuse against Vinicius
Since then, Spain has continued to punish supporters for racist abuse against Vinicius. In early 2023, four people were found guilty of hanging effigies with their names engraved on a motorway bridge in Madrid.
Three of them were sentenced to seven months in prison for hate crimes and intimidation, and another was sentenced to 15 months in prison for sharing the images online.
All four must complete an anti-discrimination training program to receive their suspended sentences, as well as being fined €60,000 and banned from sporting venues for two years.
And just last year, five Real Valladolid fans were found guilty of racially assaulting Vinicius during a 2022 match. They were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of up to 1,620 euros, but the sentence would be suspended if they did not attend a football match for three years.
