‘If he said it, I can’t accept it’: Benfica star on Prestianni

Benfica forward Dodi Lukebakio has become the first player from the Portuguese side to open the door to the possibility that Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius Junior last week in their Champions League clash with Real Madrid. So far, Benfica’s players and manager Jose Mourinho had stuck to Prestianni’s word that he did not do so.

UEFA have opened an investigation into the incident, and handed a one-match temporary ban to Prestianni, which will prevent him from playing at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night. Nevertheless, Benfica have appealed the ban, and Prestianni trained with his team at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night ahead of the game.

Lukebakio: ‘If he said it, I can’t accept it’

Of course, Benfica have a number of players in their own side who would be affected by racist abuse, including Lukebakio. The former Sevilla star implied that Real Madrid might be trying to take advantage of the situation.

“It’s true that people are talking and speculating, but in the end, we don’t really know what he said. Is it true, or was it an exaggeration to take advantage of the situation? I think it’s also possible that Real Madrid wanted to exploit this,” he told Pickx + Sports, as quoted by Diario AS.

However if the investigation finds Prestianni guilty, then Lukebakio would be in favour of punishment.

“I just hope what he said is false. Because if it’s true, I can’t accept it. I’m against injustice. And all injustice deserves to face the consequences.”

What punishment could Prestianni face?

While it seems he will serve a one-game ban regardless, Prestianni would face a 10-game ban as a minimum if he is found guilty of discriminatory language. Benfica President Rui Costa has said that they will stand by Prestianni, and that ‘if he was racist, he wouldn’t be a Benfica player’.