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.”
Benfica expected to respond after Prestianni blow
The decision will infuriate Benfica and Prestianni himself, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, although it means he will be spared a potentially difficult night in the Spanish capital.
Before the UEFA ruling, reports from Portugal suggested Prestianni intended to play the reverse game and risk a hostile reception from the home fans.
But now both he and boss Jose Mourinho will have reduced roles. Mourinho is banned from the touchline following his red card last week.
The former Madrid boss will also avoid the traditional pre-match press conference with one of his assistants João Tralhão facing the media instead.
What is Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations?
The article relates to the committing of an act that could be deemed to be discriminatory.
UEFA states: “Any entity or person subject to these regulations who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction.
That means if the full investigation determines Prestianni is guilty of racially abusing Vinícius Jr, he could still be sanctioned with a 10-game ban.
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