Benfica say accusations of racist abuse made against one of their players are untrue after taking the extraordinary step of sharing new footage of the incident that marred Tuesday night's Champions League contest against Real Madrid.
UEFA are expected to launch an investigation into the alleged racist abuse of Vinicius Junior, which saw Madrid’s clash with Benfica halted for 10 minutes.
The Brazilian has claimed that the Portuguese side’s Argentinian midfielder Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him shortly after he had scored the only goal of the play-off first leg on 50 minutes amid explosive scenes in Lisbon.
Vinicius says he was called a 'monkey' by the Argentinian player, a claim corroborated by team-mate Kylian Mbappe. Prestianni, 20, said his opponent ‘misinterpreted what he thinks he heard’, while another Madrid star, Aurelien Tchouameni, told the media that the Benfica star claimed he used a homophobic slur instead.
But Benfica have now questioned whether Vinicius Jr and Mbappe heard anything at all.
In a stunning intervention, posted on social media at 2am, the Portuguese club shared a pitchside angle of the exchange, in which Prestianni can be seen in the vicinity of Vinicius.
'As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard,' the official account said, prompting backlash from football fans.
Prestianni himself has vehemently denied accusations of racism, posting on Instagram: 'I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to player Vinicius Junior, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard. I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.'
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho's response to the controversy has also garnered criticism, with the former Chelsea and Man United boss claiming Vinicius 'incited' his players before the row exploded.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, he said: 'It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal in a good game... these talents are able to do these beautiful things but unfortunately he [Vinicius] was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and then the game was over. When you score a goal like that you celebrate in a respectful way.'
When asked if Vinicius had 'incited' Benfica's players and fans with his exuberant celebration, Mourinho said: 'Yeah, I believe so. The words they exchange, Prestianni with Vinicius, I want to be independent. I don't comment about it.'
Mourinho was seen speaking with Vinicius and Mbappe during the lengthy pause in play, and revealed what he had told the Brazilian.
'I told him that when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back,' he added. 'And then, when he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club was black. This club, the last thing it is is racist, so if in his mind it was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.
'There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium that Vinicius plays [in] something happens. Always.
'I'm saying that it was a good 50 minutes of football, millions of people watching around the world, a crazy goal absolutely crazy goal and then game over.'
His comments left Amazon Prime pundits Wayne Rooney, Clarence Seedorf and Theo Walcott stunned, with Seedorf saying the Portuguese had made a 'big mistake'.
'I think he's [Jose Mourinho] is still emotional,' said Seedorf. 'I think he made a big mistake today to justify racial abuse and I'm not saying that was the case today but he mentioned something more than today.
'He said wherever he goes these things happen, so he's saying it's okay when Vinicius provokes you, that it is okay to be racist and I think that is very wrong.'
Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards, covering the game for US broadcaster CBS Sports, highlighted Mourinho's hypocrisy.
'Anyone can celebrate how they like, and you shouldn't get racially abused no matter what. It feels a little bit rich coming from Mourinho,' Carragher said.
'This is a guy who celebrates and antagonises the opposition probably more than any coach has ever done in the past. Remember running down the touchline at Old Trafford.
'I remember a cup final against Liverpool when Chelsea scored very late telling all the Liverpool supporters to shut up... so it's a bit rich coming from him to have a pop at Vinicius Jr for his celebration. A big goal in the Champions League, he is entitled to celebrate how he likes.'
Richards said: 'I'm disappointed with the whole thing. Mourinho is somebody I love as a coach... I expect better from him because he is a powerful person within the sport, a lot of people listen to what he says and Jamie is right, hypocrisy from him when he celebrates how he wants. I just feel a little bit let down.'
