Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni handed provisional ban over Vinicius Jr racism incident in Champions League

Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has been suspended for one game while Uefa investigates allegations that the 20-year-old racially abused Real Madrid’s Vincius Jr in their Champions League play-off first leg.

Prestianni was seen holding his shirt over his mouth during a heated exchange with Madrid players following Vinicius’s second-half goal. The Brazilian winger rushed to the referee to report what he claimed was racist abuse, which teammate Kylian Mbappe later said he also heard.

The French official, Francois Letexier, paused the match for 11 minutes after activating Fifa’s anti-racism protocols, but the action later continued with Prestianni on the field. Fans inside the Estadio Da Luz loudly booed and jeered Vinicius throughout the remainder of the game, as Real Madrid saw out a 1-0 victory.

Prestianni’s manager, Jose Mourinho, blamed Vinicius for “inciting” Benfica’s players with his exuberant goal celebration, while Prestianni denied he had used racist language, claiming he had been misheard while using a homophobic slur.

Mbappe said Prestianni did not deserve to play in the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid will host Benfica for the second leg on Wednesday evening. And now the Argentine will not be involved after being handed a provisional one-match ban.

Uefa said in a statement: “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.

“Further information about this matter will be made available in due course.”

more to follow…