Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni suspended over alleged racist abuse of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior

Brazilian winger Vinicius gave his side the lead with a spectacular strike before being confronted by Benfica’s Prestianni during last week's play-off match.

The Argentine pulled his shirt over his mouth and appeared to say something to Vinicius.

After the brief exchange, Vinicius ran to speak to referee Francois Letexier, who immediately stopped the match, halting proceedings for 10 minutes.

Read more: Police investigating racist abuse of four Premier League players

A number of Real players, including England’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, accused Prestianni of racially abusing Vinicius - a claim he denies.

Following the allegation, UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident.

Today, the organisation announced the Argentine had been handed a provisional suspension ahead of Wednesday's match.

UEFA said further punishment could be handed out once the investigation is completed.

A 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 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”.

Speaking after the match, Prestianni said: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.

“I was never racist with anyone, and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players”.

Both Trent and Kylian Mbappe have branded Prestianni a “disgrace to football.”

In a statement after the match, Vinicius wrote: “Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.

“But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them.

"Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team's life. I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don't understand why.

“On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.

“I don't like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it's necessary”.