UEFA has opted to rule Gianluca Prestianni out of Wednesday’s game at Real Madrid
Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni has been provisionally suspended for one game by UEFA, ruling him out of the Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Prestianni was accused of making a racist remark towards Madrid winger Vinícius Jr in the first leg of their play-off tie in Lisbon last Tuesday.
UEFA opened an investigation and its inspector has ruled the interim findings require keeping the Argentine out of the return at the Santiago Bernabeu. A full investigation is still being carried out.
A UEFA statement read: “Following the appointment of a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the 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.
“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.”
The decision will infuriate Benfica and Prestianni himself, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
more to follow