Jose Mourinho says Gianluca Prestianni is ‘finished with me’ if found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius - ‘I will not look him in the eye again’
By Ben Morse
Published 01/03/2026 at 13:52 GMT
Jose Mourinho said that if Gianluca Prestianni is found to be guilty of racism directed towards Vinicius Junior, he is "finished with me". Vinicius alleged that he was subjected to racist abuse from Prestianni during the UEFA Champions League play-off match between Benfica and Real Madrid. Prestianni was provisionally suspended by UEFA for the second leg, but continued to deny the allegations.
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Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said that if Gianluca Prestianni is found to be guilty of racist abuse directed towards Vinicius Junior, he is "finished with me".
Vinicius made the allegations earlier this month, following the UEFA Champions League play-off match between Benfica and Real Madrid.
For the second leg, Prestianni was provisionally suspended by UEFA while they continued their investigation - a decision which Benfica appealed.
Prestianni, Mourinho and Benfica have vehemently denied the allegations of racist abuse, but speaking on Sunday, Mourinho insisted that if UEFA’s findings conclude that Prestianni did use racist language towards Vinicius, the Argentine’s career at Benfica would be over.
"If the player is guilty, I will not look him in the eye again, and he has finished with me, but I need to insert many ‘ifs’ in front," he told reporters.
Mourinho added: "I am against all forms of discrimination, of racism. If my player did not respect these principles, which are also those of Benfica, his career with a manager named Mourinho and in a club like Benfica is over."
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Mourinho also aimed criticism at UEFA for the handling of the process around Prestianni.
"The presumption of innocence is a right, so I need to always insert ‘if’," he said. "If, unfortunately, UEFA, to ensure the player was banned for the match, discovered article 4206328 as a reason to suspend him, they failed to include the ‘if’ which should have been there."
Mourinho also criticised Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who spoke out in defence of Vinicius.
"I love Alvaro [Arbeloa] and will always love him," Mourinho said. "I feel it was I, not him, who made the correct decision.
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"I spoke about this in the press conference in Madrid when I was confronted with Alvaro’s comments and from a player, making accusations towards Prestianni and defending the Madrid player.
"And I said: ‘I want to be even, not defend my player and attack the other’. I previously used the words ‘I don’t want to wear either the red shirt of Benfica or the white of Madrid’. I want to be impartial in a case which could have huge ramifications."
Madrid progressed over the two legs against Benfica, with Vinicius sealing the victory at the Bernabeu in the second half of last Wednesday's second leg.
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On Thursday, sections of the Portuguese media had suggested that Prestianni confessed to his team-mates in the aftermath of the incident.
Benfica moved swiftly to contradict that account in a statement.
The Portuguese club said: "Benfica categorically denies that player Prestianni communicated to the squad or the club’s management that he had uttered a racist insult against Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior.
"As has already been made public, the player apologised to his team-mates for the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid, regretting its magnitude and consequences and assuring everyone, as he has done from the very beginning, that he is not racist."
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