Gianluca Prestianni handed provisional suspension after UEFA investigation into Vinicius Junior allegation of racist abuse in Champions League match

Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni will miss his side's UEFA Champions League play-off second leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday after he was handed a provisional one-match suspension by European football's governing body.

During the first leg of their play-off last week, Madrid forward Vinicius Junior said he had been racially abused during a confrontation with Prestianni at Estadio da Luz after scoring the only goal in his side's 1-0 victory.

The match was halted for 10 minutes as a result, as referee Francois Letexier implemented UEFA's protocol for a complaint of racial abuse.

Following the match, UEFA opened an investigation into "allegations of discriminatory behaviour".

In a statement ahead of the return match at the Bernabeu, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) announced on Monday that the Benfica winger would be provisionally suspended for his side's next match in the competition.

"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 February 17, 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," a UEFA statement read.

"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."

Immediately after the incident, Benfica pledged their full support for Prestianni, who continues to deny any allegations of racist abuse, and the club have said they will appeal the decision.

"Benfica have been informed of UEFA’s decision to suspend its player, Gianluca Prestianni, for one match as part of the ongoing investigation surrounding the incident which occurred during our encounter with Real Madrid," the statement read.
"The club is disappointed to be without a player while the investigation is ongoing and will appeal UEFA’s decision, though the deadlines imposed make it unlikely to have any tangible outcome in time for the second leg of the Champions League play-off.

"Benfica once again reaffirms its unwavering obligation to fight any form of racism or discrimination, values which form part of the club’s historical identity and reflect its daily actions, its global community, the work of Benfica’s foundation and historical figures within the club, such as Eusebio."

The incident occurred shortly after Vinicius' celebration following the game's only goal at the Estadio da Luz.

As he was walking back to the halfway line for the game to restart, Prestianni appeared to utter something at Vinicius, while using his shirt to cover his mouth. Vinicius immediately ran to the referee to inform him of the alleged abuse and the match was temporarily halted.

Benfica manager Jose Mourinho spoke to Vinicius as he was leaving the pitch and said later in the press conference: "I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back.

"When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was Black.

"This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica.

"They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don't believe in one or another. I want to be an independent."

Prestianni also released a statement on social media after the match.

It read: "I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who unfortunately misunderstood what he thought he heard.

"I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players."

The club then added another post with a video and a caption that read: "As the images demonstrate, given the distance, the Real Madrid players could not have heard what they claim to have heard."

Vinicius commented: "Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.

"But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team's life.

"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."

Prestianni will now miss the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

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