Benfica's Prestianni denies 'ugly' accusations he racially abused Vinicius Jr

[p]The 20-year-old Argentinian was accused of making a racist insult towards the Brazilian in February, while covering his mouth with his shirt.[/p][p]The referee stopped the match for 10 minutes and the player was subsequently suspended for the second leg by UEFA, which opened an investigation.[/p][p][b]If UEFA finds he abused [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Vinicius[/a] then he will be banned for at least 10 matches.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] progressed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/benfica-zBkyuyRI/real-madrid-W8mj7MDD/?mid=M1zZ0lxn"]3-1 on aggregate[/a] to reach the Champions League last 16.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/prestianni-gianluca/C2bbqoRj/"]Prestianni[/a] told Argentine broadcaster Telefe that missing the second leg in Madrid "hurt a lot" and denied making the insult.[/p][p][b]"I was thinking about my father, my mother, my grandparents, about the fact that so many things were being said that don't reflect who I am and that didn't happen," [/b]he said in his first interview since the incident.[/p][p][b]"It's ugly and it hurts a lot."[/b][/p][embed guid="e8f10240-448f-48dc-9eff-8560b29fb7b4" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2039384096074338612" social-type="twitter" /][p]He said he was "very grateful" to his club and his teammates for their internal support, and said that his coach, Jose Mourinho, was "a phenomenon".[/p][p]Mourinho was criticised after seeming to indicate that Vinicius provoked the alleged abuse with his goal celebration after scoring in the first leg.[/p][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a] coach later clarified his position, assuring that if the accusations of racism were confirmed by the investigation, the Argentine would never play for him again.[/p][p]Prestianni was called up by Argentina for friendlies played in the past week.[/p][p][b]"I work day in, day out to make this opportunity arrive,"[/b] the winger said, adding that his greatest dream was to play in a World Cup with the Albiceleste.[/p]