Benfica lose Gianluca Prestianni ban appeal after alleged Vinicius Jr racism incident | OneFootball

Benfica’s appeal against a provisional suspension imposed by Uefa on their player Gianluca Prestianni has been dismissed, following allegations he racially abused Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr.

Uefa confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the appeal had been rejected, meaning Prestianni remains provisionally suspended for the next Uefa club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible.

The sanction, initially imposed on Monday, ruled Prestianni out of Wednesday night’s Champions League play-off round second leg against Real in Madrid.

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Gianluca Prestianni (left) has been given a provisional one-match ban after the incident (AP)

The allegations stem from the first leg of the tie, during which Vinicius claimed he was racially abused by Prestianni, a charge the Benfica player denies. Uefa subsequently appointed an ethics and disciplinary investigator (EDI) to look into the matter.

The incident occurred after Vinicius had given his team the lead with a superb individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half.

After celebrating in front of the home fans, the Brazilian became visibly upset by something said to him, immediately informing the referee, which led to a 10-minute stoppage in play as he refused to return to the field.

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, who faced widespread criticism for his post-match comments, did not conduct the usual pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

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Prestianni is accused of racially abusing Vinicius Jr (AFP/Getty)

Mourinho had appeared to suggest after the first leg that Vinicius had provoked the abuse with his celebration, stating that “a stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens, always”.

Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out responded by accusing Mourinho of “gaslighting”.

Uefa has clarified that the provisional suspension 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”.