Thierry Henry has called for Gianluca Prestianni to explain himself after Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior accused the Benfica midfielder of racial abuse. The pair were involved in a heated exchange after Vinicius put his side in front at the Estadio da Luz.
Vinicius infuriated Benfica players after celebrating his goal but Prestianni crossed the line when he allegedly chose to racially abuse the Brazilian. The Argentine cowardly covered his mouth with his shirt and directed a comment towards Madrid's forward.
The 25-year-old informed the referee before exiting the field and sitting on the bench as play was paused. It took 10 minutes for the game to resume after UEFA's racism protocol had been implemented.
Prestianni was allowed to play on despite the accusation made against him. It was an ugly night in Portugal that even led to Jose Mourinho being sent off.
Thierry Henry reacts to Vinicius racism
Henry covered the game for CBS Sports Golazo and gave a grim verdict of Prestianni's actions. The former Barcelona striker took aim at the Argentine for covering his mouth when allegedly racially abusing Vinicius.
The iconic former striker said (via Madrid Zone):
“Let us see how big of a man Prestiani is, because he covered his face, he can’t say he didn’t say anything.”
UEFA will undoubtedly investigate the incident but their own approach to the situation must also be under review. The fact someone accused of racism was allowed to continue playing is disturbing.
Vinicius' goal means Madrid will head back to the Bernabeu next week 1-0 up on aggregate. UEFA will most likely have handed out a punishment to the Argentine before that game given the risk of allowing a potential racist to play against his victim.
Micah Richards rips into Prestianni
Henry was joined on CBS by Micah Richards who gave a three-word response to Prestianni's actions and behavior. The former Manchester City defender said:
"He's a coward."
Vinicius was victimised throughout the game and Nicolas Otamendi tried getting the Brazilian to act out in anger. The Argentine defender lifted his shirt to show a tattoo of his trophies to the Brazilian.
Benfica fans were seen throwing items at Madrid players in the second half after the incident. It was a damaging night for European football and Federico Valverde called Prestianni's antics 'pathetic.'
Los Blancos will turn their attention to La Liga this Saturday when they travel to Osasuna. They are top of the table ahead of that game after Barcelona suffered a 2-1 loss to Girona on Monday.