Gianluca Prestianni’s Suspension Is Unfair – Benfica President

Benfica president Rui Costa has launched a passionate defence of Gianluca Prestianni amid racism scandal. Recall that the youngster found himself at the centre of a firestorm amid allegations of racial abuse directed at the Blancos star Vinicius Junior during a heated first-leg encounter at the Estadio da Luz.

According to Costa, UEFA‘s decision to suspend Prestianni for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid is unfair because the player is anything but racist.

He added that despite not being on the pitch when the alleged word was said, he doesn’t doubt Gianluca’s innocence.

His words, “I wasn’t on the field to know what was said or not said; in a situation like that, a lot can be said. We believe our player’s word, who is being labelled a racist, but he is anything but racist.

We always defended the player, we always kept the player informed of everything we were doing, and I’m only speaking now because there was a decision, even if not final and even if unfair, in our perspective. It wasn’t justified for the president to speak before the process was finalised. In the end, there was no sentence, there’s only a suspension, but there was no point in talking about a matter that was still in process.”

WOW.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football.

Real Madrid has maintained the white shirt for its home kit throughout the history of the club. There was, however, one season that the shirt and shorts were not both white. It was an initiative undertaken by Juan Padrós in honor of an English team Corinthian F.C., which he had met on one of his trips, one of the most famous teams at the time known for its elegance and sportsmanship.

It was under Florentino Pérez’s first presidency (2000–2006) that Real Madrid started its ambition of becoming the world’s richest professional football club. The club ceded part of its training grounds to the city of Madrid in 2001, and sold the rest to four corporations: Repsol YPF, Mutua Automovilística de Madrid, Sacyr Vallehermoso and OHL.

Hala Madrid is a magazine published quarterly for the Real Madrid club members and the Madridistas Fan Club card holders. The phrase Hala Madrid, meaning “Forward Madrid” or “Go Madrid”, is also the title of the club’s official anthem, which is often sung by the Madridistas (the club’s fans).