MADRID:

Real Madrid have provided governing body UEFA with evidence regarding their forward Vinicius Jr’s allegation that Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni directed a racist slur at him during Tuesday’s 1-0 win at the Portuguese club, the Spanish side said on Thursday.

The Champions League playoff first leg clash was suspended for 11 minutes after Vinicius accused Prestianni of using the slur after Vinicius scored for Real five minutes into the second half.

Prestianni denied the allegation, saying Vinicius “misunderstood what he thinks he heard”, and Benfica said they stood by their winger as UEFA appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate the allegation.

“Real Madrid C.F. announces that today it has provided UEFA with all available evidence regarding the incidents that occurred on Tuesday,” Real said in a statement.

The Spanish club said they appreciate the support Vinicius has received since the incident.

“Real Madrid will continue to work, in collaboration with all institutions, to eradicate racism, violence and hatred in sport and in society,” the club added.

 

Slot says football must do more

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says more needs to be done to avoid racism in football following allegations by Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr that he was subjected to racist abuse from Benfica’s Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni.

Real’s 1-0 Champions League playoff first-leg win at Benfica on Tuesday was overshadowed by Vinicius accusing Prestianni of directing a racist slur at him, a charge denied by the Portuguese club, the player and their manager Jose Mourinho.

European soccer’s governing body UEFA said it was reviewing the incident, which led to the game being halted for 11 minutes under FIFA’s anti-racism protocol.

“In general you can never do enough, you can always do more to make sure this (racism in football) never happens again,” Slot told reporters ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League visit to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

“We have to try as a football community to do more than society does. That’s maybe not so difficult, by the way. Protocol was followed in the game, that’s the first step,” he said on Thursday.

“I would hope my players would act in a similar way – immediately address it, and the referee acts in a similar way.”

Regarding the Forest game, Slot expects a different set-up under the Midlands club’s new manager Vitor Pereira compared to the meeting in November when Liverpool lost 3-0 at Anfield.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Pereira was appointed last Sunday to replace the sacked Sean Dyche.

“We only have tonight (Thursday) to see if this new manager changes personnel,” Slot said, referring to Forest’s first game under Pereira at Fenerbahce in a Europa League playoff tie.

“The good thing is they have that game, and the manager was in the Premier League last season.”

The Dutchman said Jeremie Frimpong is still out this weekend but fellow defender Joe Gomez is ready to start if needed.

Slot said his side have improved over the past few months, with Liverpool sixth in the table on 42 points from 26 games.

I think that’s an answer in and of itself.

“We have improved compared to three, four months ago. We are in a much better place than months ago,” the 47-year-old added.

“There are more reasons, but the most simple two are how fit we are and that we’re much better at set-pieces at the moment.”

Forest are languishing in 17th spot, one place and three points above West Ham United in the relegation zone.