Rui Costa, president of Benfica, broke his silence on the Prestianni case this Tuesday, before the team headed to Madrid to play the second leg of the Champions League playoff.
"I am not on the field to know what was said or not said. In a situation like this, many things are said. What we believe in is the word of our player. Prestianni is being labeled as racist, but he is anything but racist. I can guarantee that," explained the president in statements collected by 'A Bola.'
Rui Costa believes that Benfica has respected the procedures of the ongoing UEFA investigation and that "they defended the player when he needed to be defended."
"We understand that nothing has been proven and there is no justification for the player's absence from this match," Rui Costa pointed out.
Rui Costa also believes that Fede Valverde should have been sanctioned for an aggression committed in the first leg, as his club has reported and UEFA has dismissed.
"One thing does not cancel out the other and we do not want to use other cases to nullify Prestianni's situation, but we cannot forget what happened in the first leg. There was a clear aggression by Valverde, who should be left out of this match," concluded Rui Costa.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.