Gianluca Prestianni provisionally suspended for one game after Vinícius Júnior incident | OneFootball

Gianluca Prestianni has been given a provisional one-match suspension for alleged racist abuse ahead of Benfica's second-leg game against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

The Spanish side won in Lisbon but the game was marred following Vinícius Júnior's goal that led to the player being reportedly racially abused by the Argentinian with the game stopped for eight minutes.

Prestianni will now miss the return leg in Madrid with the governing body UEFA releasing a statement about the decision: "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."

Should UEFA later judge Prestianni to have committed racist abuse he will likely be given a significant ban.

Benfica have responded to the decision with a statement of their own: "The Club regrets being deprived of the player while the case is still under investigation and will appeal UEFA's decision, even though the deadlines in question are unlikely to have any practical effect on the second leg of the Champions League play-off.

"Sport Lisboa e Benfica also reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating all forms of racism and discrimination, values that are part of its historical identity and are reflected in its daily activities, its global community, the work of the Benfica Foundation and in major figures in the club's history, such as Eusébio."