Mbappe Reveals Details of Vinicius Crisis Against Benfica and Attacks Prestiani

SadaNews - French star Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid launched an attack against Argentine Gianluca Prestiani, Benfica's winger, following allegations that he directed racist insults towards Brazilian Vinicius Junior, the Royal team's star, during the two teams' encounter in the Champions League.

Real Madrid made a significant step towards reaching the last 16 of the continental tournament, in which it holds the record for the most victories (15 times), after winning 1-0 at the home of Benfica in the first leg of the qualifying playoff for the knockout stages of the tournament on Tuesday.

Vinicius scored the only goal for the Spanish team in the 50th minute, before play was halted for about 10 minutes due to the Brazilian player's complaints about alleged racist abuses, while the referee sent off a member of the coaching staff of Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho.

Mbappe Reveals Details of Vinicius' Crisis Against Benfica

Mbappe revealed the details of what happened after Vinicius' goal, saying: "Vini scored the goal and went to celebrate by dancing. The fans booed, which can happen. After that, there was a moment of tension with Benfica players, which can also happen because this is the Champions League and it's natural because people want their team to win."

Mbappe added in his statements, which were reported by his club's official website, "After that, Benfica's number 25, I don’t want to mention his name because he doesn’t deserve it, started talking badly."

He continued, "This is unacceptable, but it happened and will happen. But then he raised his shirt to say that Vini was a monkey five times; I heard that. There are Benfica players who heard that too. After this point, everything we saw began."

Mbappe explained, "We need to clarify things calmly; we shouldn't speak generally. I have come to Portugal many times and nothing like this has ever happened before, and in such cases, it is important to speak clearly, and there are people who did nothing."

He stressed, "There are certainly 70,000 people who were supporting their team. I have great respect for Benfica and its coach, but this player does not deserve to play again in the Champions League. I believe this tournament excites everyone, especially children. If we let such things pass, all values of football will become worthless, and everything we believe in will become meaningless. We must do something."

He continued, "After that, I went with Vini because he didn’t want to play again, and as I said in the press conference before the Monaco match, we cannot leave him alone in such matters. We must unite and defend our players."

Mbappe said, "We also spoke with people at Benfica, but I cannot be angry with them because they did not hear, and when that happens, it's hard to have a viewpoint. It would be unfair for me to say that Benfica's staff did not defend us. But the people who were close should have done something."

Arbeloa Calls on Prestiani to Reveal What He Said

For his part, Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa called on Argentine player Gianluca Prestiani to disclose what he said to Vinicius Junior during the two teams' encounter in the Champions League.

Arbeloa referred to the alleged racial insult during the press conference following the match, saying: "Ask the Benfica player what he said to Vini. Everyone in the football world deserves an answer to this question, and that’s all I can say."

Arbeloa added in his statements, which were reported by his club’s official website, "Tolerance for racism must be zero for us, and we cannot allow such things to happen on a football field in 2026."

The Spanish coach explained: "What Vini told me about what he was called, I certainly believe it. I don't think he would make something like this up, and I would never doubt his words. I just asked him if he wanted to continue playing. We were by his side, and whatever decision he made, we would stick together."

He continued, "We must always be by his side; we are a team. I always tell them that we walk together and die together. When one of us faces such a situation, we are always with him. We are a cohesive team, and we will continue to fight together as we did today."

Source: Agencies