Benfica claim Gianluca Prestianni is victim of defamation in racism row

Uefa has appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the allegations, and Benfica issued a statement on Wednesday offering “complete collaboration, transparency, openness” with Uefa’s process but insisted that the club “fully supports and believes in the version presented by Gianluca Prestianni”, adding: “The club regrets the defamation campaign to which the player has been subjected.”

Kick It Out, the anti-discrimination campaign group, accused the Benfica manager José Mourinho of “gaslighting” Vinícius, as he blamed the forward for inciting the crowd and questioned why he had been subject to racist abuse at multiple stadiums.

“There is something wrong, because it happens in every stadium,” Mourinho said. “The stadium where Vinícius Júnior plays, something happens — always.”

In a statement, Kick It Out said: “When anyone reports discrimination in football, or anywhere, the first priority is that they are listened to and feel supported.

“Focusing on Vinícius Jr’s goal celebration or the history of the club, instead of acknowledging the report, is a form of gaslighting.

“This approach not only harms the individual affected but also sends the wrong message to others around the world who may have experienced similar situations.”

Mourinho has courted controversy on countless occasions, and is no stranger to attention-seeking celebrations.

He infamously ran down the Old Trafford touchline in celebration after his Porto team scored against Manchester United in the Champions League. He also provoked the Barcelona crowd at the Nou Camp, after his Inter team beat them in the Champions League.

Vinícius’s team-mates Kylian Mbappé and Trent Alexander-Arnold rallied around the player.

The France international claimed that Prestianni said “Vinícius is a monkey” five times. The Argentina winger has denied the racism allegations on Instagram.

Alexander-Arnold described the incident as “disgusting” and a “disgrace to football”.

Mark Clattenburg, the former referee, also apologised for “clumsy” remarks he made while commentating on the game for Amazon Prime.

At the time the referee said that Vinícius “has not helped himself”, referring to the Brazil international’s celebration, but on Wednesday he issued an apologetic statement on social media.

“I’m grateful to have a chance to follow up on last night, I got it wrong, I’m sorry,” he wrote. “It was live TV, my job is to respond in the moment and the words I used were clumsy and not right.

“I’m already learning from this and appreciate my colleagues who covered the situation with class throughout.”

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