Benfica lose appeal against Gianluca Prestianni's UEFA ban amid alleged racist abuse of Vinicus Junior | OneFootball

Winger will not feature as investigations continue

Benfica have failed in an appeal against a provisional suspension imposed by UEFA on their player Gianluca Prestianni amid allegations he racially abused Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.

UEFA imposed the provisional sanction on Monday, ruling Prestianni out of Wednesday night's Champions League play-off round second leg against Real in Madrid.

Benfica announced they would appeal, but UEFA said on Wednesday afternoon it had been dismissed.

"Mr Gianluca Prestianni remains provisionally suspended for the next UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible," a UEFA statement read.

UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary investigator (EDI) following the first leg, during which Vinicius alleged he was racially abused by Prestianni - something the Benfica player denied.

UEFA said on Monday the imposition of a provisional suspension was "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".

The Brazilian left the field and refused to return, resulting in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes of last Tuesday's first leg in Lisbon.

It came after Vinicius had given his team the lead with a wonderful individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half.

After celebrating in front of the home fans, he became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee, who stopped the match.

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, who was roundly criticised for his comments about the incident after the game, did not conduct the usual pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Mourinho appeared to intimate after the first leg that the winger had brought any abuse upon himself with his celebration, and said that "a stadium where Vinicius plays, something happens, always".

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