Benfica striker Gianluca Prestianni will miss his side’s Champions League play-off tie at Real Madrid on Wednesday night after European football chiefs suspended him for one match following allegations that he racially abused Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.
The Argentine’s ban from the game at the Santiago Bernabeu comes as tournament organisers Uefa carry out an inquiry into the incident during the first leg of the two games to decide a place in the last-16 of the 2026 competition.
Vinicius claimed Prestianni directed racist insults at him following his spectacular goal early in the second-half at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on 17 February.
After Vinicius informed referee François Letexier of Prestianni's comments, the French official crossed his hands at the wrists to highlight that he was stopping the match and implementing the anti-racism protocol laid down by world football's governing body Fifa.
Following conversations between players, coaches and officials lasting 10 minutes, the two teams eventually carried on the fixture.
"This suspension is without prejudice to any ruling that the Uefa disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the investigation and its respective submission to the Uefa disciplinary bodies,” Uefa said in a statement.
20-year-old Prestianni has denied the allegation.
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Benfica said they would appeal against the decision. “We regret being deprived of our player while the case is still under investigation,” said a club statement.
Real Madrid's France internationals Kylian Mbappé, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni were in the vanguard of support for Vinicius following the 1-0 victory.
Mbappe, who skippers France, told reporters he heard Prestianni direct the same racist remark at Vinicius several times.
He said he had been prepared to leave the pitch but Vinicius persuaded him to continue playing.
"We cannot accept that there is a player in Europe's top football competition who behaves like this,” Mbappé said after the game. “This guy [Prestianni] doesn't deserve to play in the Champions League anymore."
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The British-based anti-discriminatory body, Kick It Out, added its voice to the row in the prelude to the second leg.
It hit out at the Benfica boss Jose Mourinho who said he thought Vinicius had incited the crowd with his goal celebrations
"This approach not only harms the individual affected but also sends the wrong message to others around the world who may have experienced similar situations," Kick It Out said.
In other second leg games on Wednesday night, holders Paris Saint-Germain take a 3-2 lead into their tie against Monaco at the Parc des Princes in Paris and Borussia Dortmund start with a two-goal advantage over the Italian top flight outfit Atalanta.
Another Italian club, Juventus, face an even tougher battle. Galatasaray lead them 5-2 following the first leg in Turkey.
