Report – How Gianluca Prestianni could still play against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu | OneFootball

On Monday, UEFA announced a provisional one-match suspension for SL Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni amid ongoing investigation over him allegedly racially abusing Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr.

The Argentine allegedly called the Real Madrid winger a ‘mo*key’ during the first leg of the Champions League knockout playoff last week in Lisbon, which he continues to deny.

As the two teams get set to face on Wednesday in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, UEFA issued a one-match provisional ban as they carry out the investigation, following which the punishment could extend much longer.

Prestianni could still play at the Bernabeu

Now, though, according to Mundo Deportivo, there is a possibility that Prestianni can still play for Benfica against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

As already reported, Benfica will appeal to UEFA against the one-match suspension imposed this Monday on Prestianni, who will travel to Madrid with the rest of the squad. As the Portuguese club acknowledged in its statement, the time frame is very tight.

Prestianni has been handed a one-match ban. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

However, it has emerged that there could be a resolution regarding the Argentine player before kick-off on Wednesday night. If the outcome is favourable, he would be able to play at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The first crucial step is for Benfica to urgently request from UEFA the legal reasoning behind the suspension, especially as the extraordinary procedure concerning the alleged racist insult towards Vinicius has not yet been concluded.

Once Benfica receive the legal grounds, they will be able to lodge their appeal with UEFA. If the appeal is submitted before Wednesday at 21:00, the Appeals Committee would be required to convene urgently to issue a decision and respond before the start of the match.

However, the very fact that the provisional sanction was imposed suggests that the investigator may consider there to be sufficient indications that the alleged insult took place. So, it remains to be seen how things progress.