UEFA have decided to suspend Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for their highly-charged second-leg against Real Madrid. Prestianni is accused of racially abusing Real star Vinicius Junior in the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie last week.
It’s reported that Prestianni is facing a 10-match ban if found guilty of the charges. The first leg of the tie was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported to referee Francois Letexier that Prestianni had used a racial slur following his goal, which resulted in him being booked for celebrating in front of the Benfica fans.
Prestianni has refuted the allegations that he labelled the Brazilian star a “monkey” after pulling his shirt over his mouth. He stated: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at the player Vinicius Junior, who unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he heard. I have never been racist and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”
UEFA initiated an investigation into the allegations and have now decided to suspend Prestianni for the return leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
UEFA stated: “Following the appointment of a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 Knock-out Play-off match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid CF on 17 February 2026, and upon request of the EDI with an interim report, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) today decided to provisionally suspend Mr. Gianluca Prestianni for the next (1) UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible for the prima facie violation of Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) related to a discriminatory behaviour.
“This is without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies. Further information about this matter will be made available in due course.”
Real carry a 1-0 advantage into the second leg at home and have backed Vinicius. He posted on social media after the match: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts over their mouths to demonstrate how weak they are. But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have the obligation to punish them.
“Nothing that happened here is new in my life or my family’s. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why. On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose. I don’t like appearing in situations like this, especially after a great victory when the headlines have to be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”