UEFA has handed a provisional suspension to Gianluca Prestianni, making the SL Benfica forward unavailable for the return leg of their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid CF.
The opening leg of the knockout tie on Tuesday, February 17, was paused for about 10 minutes after Vinícius Júnior informed referee François Letexier of alleged racist abuse.
In line with UEFA’s anti-racism protocol, Letexier made the crossed-arms signal to indicate a discrimination complaint. Vinícius then left the field and went to the dugout at Estádio da Luz, initially declining to continue the match.
Reports indicate the incident followed a verbal exchange between Vinícius and Prestianni, after which the Madrid winger approached the referee to lodge his complaint.
After the game, Vinícius released a strongly worded statement condemning racism, describing perpetrators as cowardly and criticising what he sees as a failure to hold offenders accountable. He added that such incidents are not new to him or his team.
Prestianni, however, rejected the allegation in a social media post published early Wednesday. He stated that he never directed any racist language at Vinícius and suggested the Brazilian may have misheard what was said. The Benfica forward also said he regretted receiving threats from Real Madrid players.
UEFA later confirmed that Prestianni will miss Benfica’s second-leg fixture against Real Madrid on Wednesday, February 25.
In an official statement, the governing body said that after appointing a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to examine claims of discriminatory conduct during the February 17 match, and following an interim report request, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body had decided to provisionally suspend the player for one UEFA club competition match. The suspension relates to an apparent breach of Article 14 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations concerning discriminatory behaviour.
UEFA clarified that the temporary ban does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation and that further updates will be communicated in due course.
According to Sky News journalist Rob Harris, Prestianni could face a suspension of at least 10 UEFA matches if the investigation ultimately finds him guilty.