Benfica coach Jose Mourinho said on Sunday that if midfielder Gianluca Prestianni is found guilty of racism, his career under the Portuguese will be «over».
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior accused Prestianni of racially abusing him when the teams met in Lisbon in the Champions League play-offs on February 17.
«If, and I repeat this often, it is proven that my player does not respect these principles, which are mine and those of Benfica, his career with me will be over,» Mourinho told reporters.
Prestianni, who denies racially abusing Vinicius, is being investigated by European football’s governing body UEFA and was provisionally suspended for the second leg of the play-off match.
If UEFA finds that he has abused Vinicius, he will be suspended for at least ten matches. Real Madrid took a 3-1 lead on aggregate and reached the last sixteen of the Champions League.
Mourinho was criticized after appearing to indicate Vinicius provoked the alleged abuse with a dancing goal celebration after scoring in the first leg.
“The presumption of innocence is a right,” Mourinho said.
«If the player is indeed guilty, I will never look at him the way I looked at him. That’s the end of it for me, but I have to put a lot of ‘if’ in front of it.»
Published on March 1, 2026
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