Journalist Totally Off the Mark with Reaction to UEFA Suspending Gianluca Prestianni
It's over a week since UEFA began its investigation into the alleged racist abuse suffered by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. It happened in the first leg of the Champions League playoff against Benfica at the Estádio da Luz.
The incident happened after Vini Jr. gave Los Blancos the lead, with Argentine international Gianluca Prestianni reported to the referee by Vinicius after the Benfica man covered his mouth with his shirt to insult the Brazilian, who claimed it was a racial slur.
While UEFA continues its investigation, they have made the decision to suspend the player for the upcoming second leg on February 25. Most agree with the decision, but one journalist from Radio Marca's show La Tribu has controversial comments.
Real Madrid and UEFA Happy but Not 'Poor Prestianni'
According to the editor of La Tribu, Raúl Varela, he believes the decision helps Real Madrid, and even goes so far as to say the decision to suspend the player is questionable, due to not being proven guilty.
"What became clear is that, in terms of the time frame, things haven't gone badly for Madrid. Quite the opposite. And he concluded with a very graphic statement from a competitive point of view: A player who is neither definitively guilty nor innocent misses the match, and from a competitive and narrative perspective, it can be considered a 1-0 defeat."Raúl Varela
It feels like a crazy statement for somebody who has been accused of racist abuse, which was also heard by two Real Madrid players. The covering of the mouth to say something means lip readers cannot be used, but the hope is that a pitch-side mic may pick up what was said. The reaction of Vini Jr. does not suggest a player who misheard what was said.
One previous incident that UEFA may have looked at and made the decision to suspend Prestianni was that of Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Manchester United's Patrice Evra in 2012. The Uruguayan was accused of racially abusing Evra and was put under investigation.
The two players would meet not long after, and during the start of the game, when opposing players shake hands, Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand, causing a little scuffle. Manchester United went on to win the game, which saw the Frenchman celebrate in front of the Liverpool player. It could be that UEFA has looked at that and seen that as a possible problem.
Not many will argue that it is the wrong decision, but it appears some think otherwise, which is a dangerous side of the fence to sit on.
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-031bbeb5612ca252e2129722373fa56d.png "Jordan Merritt")
Jordan Merritt is a staff writer for Real Madrid On SI. Before joining On SI, he wrote at Fansided, covering Ole Miss football, basketball, and baseball. He has also written for YardBarker, Heavy Sports, and the official EFL site. Merritt is a big sports fan, spending most of his weekends watching Soccer, the NFL, the NBA, college football/basketball, and others. Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Merritt was an Engineer for over 10 years. He lives in West Yorkshire, England, and is keenly interested in sports trading cards.
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