Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni denied making racist remarks against Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior during their match yesterday in the first leg of the Champions League qualifying playoff.

The Argentine player wrote on his Instagram account: "I want to clarify that I did not utter any racist insults towards Vinicius Junior at any moment."

He added: "Unfortunately, he misunderstood what he thought he heard. I have never been racist towards anyone."

He concluded: "I express my regret for the threats I received from Real Madrid players."

The match witnessed significant controversy after Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt and repeated the word "monkey, monkey" in front of Vinicius, who then approached the referee to report the incident, leading François Letexier to stop the match, which was resumed after about 10 minutes.

These events followed the goal scored by Vinicius in the 50th minute, after which he celebrated in front of Benfica fans, escalating tensions between the players of both teams. The match ended with the royal team winning (1-0).