UEFA has provisionally suspended SL Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni for one match following an allegation of racist abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during last week’s Champions League knockout phase play-off first leg.
The decision, announced on Monday, rules the 20-year-old out of Wednesday’s decisive return fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The controversy stems from an incident that occurred shortly after Vinicius Junior scored the only goal in Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory at the Estádio da Luz on February 17. Following his celebration, which earned him a yellow card, the Brazilian forward approached referee François Letexier to report that he had been subjected to a racist remark by Prestianni.
The French official subsequently halted the match for approximately ten minutes to implement FIFA’s anti-racism protocol.
European football’s governing body moved swiftly, appointing an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate the high-profile case. In a statement released Monday, UEFA confirmed the provisional sanction based on the inspector’s interim report.
“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,” the governing body announced.
Crucially, UEFA emphasized that this interim measure does not predetermine the final outcome of the investigation. “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,” the statement added.
Should the investigation conclude that Prestianni is guilty of racial abuse, he could face a minimum suspension of ten matches, in line with UEFA’s disciplinary guidelines.
The incident has elicited strong reactions from key figures involved. Vinicius Junior, who has been the target of racial abuse on multiple occasions throughout his career in Spain, took to social media to express his frustration with how the situation was handled during the match.
“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are,” the Brazilian wrote on Instagram. “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”.
His sentiment was echoed by Real Madrid teammates. Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold described the episode as a “disgrace to football,” while forward Kylian Mbappé, who sources told ESPN also heard the abuse, stated that Prestianni “doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League any more”.
For his part, Prestianni has vehemently denied the allegations, maintaining that his comments were misconstrued. In a social media post following the first leg, the Argentine winger sought to clarify his position.
“I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard,” Prestianni said. “I was never racist with anyone, and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players”.
Reports have also emerged, citing sources speaking to ESPN, that Prestianni admitted to UEFA he used an “anti-gay” slur rather than a racist one, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Benfica and their manager José Mourinho, who is himself suspended for the second leg, had previously rallied behind their player. The club issued a statement decrying what they termed a “defamation campaign” against Prestianni.
Mourinho controversially criticized Vinicius Junior’s goal celebration and argued that his club could not be racist, pointing to the club’s greatest icon, the late Eusébio, who was black.
The provisional suspension means Prestianni will play no part in Wednesday’s high-stakes encounter at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Benfica must overturn a one-goal deficit to progress to the last sixteen.