Benfica have failed in an appeal against a provisional suspension imposed by UEFA on their player Gianluca Prestianni amid allegations he racially abused Real Madrid forward VinÃcius Júnior.
UEFA imposed the provisional sanction on Monday, ruling Prestianni out of Wednesday night’s Champions League playoff round second leg against Madrid in Madrid.
Benfica announced they would appeal, but UEFA said on Wednesday afternoon it had been dismissed.
“Mr Gianluca Prestianni remains provisionally suspended for the next UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible,” a UEFA statement read.
UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary investigator (EDI) following the first leg, during which VinÃcius alleged he was racially abused by Prestianni — something the Benfica player denied.
UEFA said on Monday the imposition of a provisional suspension was “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.”
The Brazilian left the field and refused to return, resulting in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes of last Tuesday’s first leg in Lisbon.
It came after VinÃcius had given his team the lead with a wonderful individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half.
After celebrating in front of the home fans, he became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee, who stopped the match.
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José Mourinho also backed Prestianni and criticised VinÃcius for his celebration after the goal — for which the player was booked. The Benfica coach said something always happens in stadiums where VinÃcius plays.
Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said Tuesday it was wrong to use VinÃcius’ celebration to justify the alleged act of racism.
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany was among those who also criticised Mourinho for attacking VinÃcius after last week’s match.
Mourinho is suspended for the second leg because he was sent off late in the first leg for referee dissent. But he also traveled to Madrid with Prestianni, who trained with the rest of the team on Wednesday before UEFA rejected his club’s appeal.
ESPN’s Mark Ogden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
