UEFA have announced the provisional one-match suspension of SL Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni following his altercation with Real Madrid superstar Vinicius in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie as investigation continues to alleged racism from the Argentine.
As such, Prestianni will not play this Wednesday against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg.
The inspector from UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Commission imposed a provisional suspension on the Benfica youngster , who is under investigation for an alleged racist insult directed at Vinicius. Article 14 has been applied for “discriminatory behaviour”.
Prestianni handed one-match ban. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The statement from the governing body read as follows:
“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”.
In this way, UEFA ensure that Vinicius and Prestianni will not be in the same place for the return leg, amid growing tension of a potential confrontation between the two.
Meanwhile, Prestianni could face further sanctions and potential fines, as the investigation remains ongoing. UEFA made this clear in its communication:
“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”.
Source: AS