UEFA has provisionally suspended Benfica‘s Gianluca Prestianni for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Real Madrid following allegations that he used racist language directed at Vinícius Júnior in last week’s first leg.
Vinícius accused Prestianni of directing a racist insult at him after Vinícius scored a goal in Madrid’s 1-0 win over Benfica.
Prestianni was among the Benfica players upset with Vinícius after the forward celebrated by the Benfica corner flag. Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé also said he heard the abuse. Prestianni had admitted to UEFA that he used an “anti-gay” slur rather than a racist one, sources told ESPN.
He will now sit out of the second leg between the sides, pending a UEFA investigation, where he could he banned for up to 10 games if he is found guilty of racial abuse in UEFA’s disciplinary code.
A UEFA statement read: “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 Playoff 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.”
Prima facie means the burden of proof needs to be enough to create the assumption is true, according to UK Practical Law.
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica has been informed of UEFA’s decision to impose a provisional one-match suspension on its player Gianluca Prestianni, as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident that occurred during the match against Real Madrid,” Benfica said in a statement.
“The club regrets being deprived of the player while the process is still under investigation and will appeal this UEFA decision, even though the deadlines in question are unlikely to have any practical effect on the second leg of the Champions League playoff.
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica also reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating all forms of racism or discrimination, values that are part of its historical identity and are reflected in its daily actions, its global community, the work of the Benfica Foundation, and major figures in the club’s history, such as Eusébio.”
Information from ESPN’s Bruno Andrade and Alex Kirkland contributed to this report.
