Kylian Mbappé has come to the defense of Vinícius Júnior following the racist abuse directed at the Brazilian during Tuesday’s match between Benfica and Real Madrid (17).
In an interview with TNT Sports Brasil, Mbappé revealed that Gianluca Prestianni had called Vinícius a monkey on five separate occasions.
Advertisement
The incident took place after Vinícius scored the decisive goal, leading Real Madrid to a 1-0 victory at Estádio da Luz.
“Then, wearing jersey number 25—I won’t mention his name because he doesn’t deserve it—he started using offensive language. He even covered his face with his shirt and called Vini a monkey five times,” said Mbappé.
He also mentioned that he, Vinícius, and other Real Madrid players were reluctant to continue playing after the incident.
Mbappé specifically criticized Prestianni’s actions, stating, “It would be unfair to generalize about Benfica, Portugal, or the fans present, as they do not deserve this. It was just one player who behaved this way, and he doesn’t belong in the Champions League.”
Advertisement
During the interview, Mbappé offered his solidarity to Vinícius and noted that the Brazilian has faced similar abuse in the past.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.