By Kazeem Ajibola Shoyebo
Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has been ruled out of his club’s crucial Champions League clash against Real Madrid after UEFA imposed a provisional suspension over alleged racist conduct involving Vinícius Júnior.
UEFA confirmed that Prestianni will miss the upcoming fixture pending the outcome of an ongoing disciplinary investigation into alleged discriminatory behaviour during the teams’ previous meeting in Lisbon.
The European governing body explained that the suspension followed an interim report submitted by its Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector, which found sufficient preliminary grounds to justify immediate action under its anti-discrimination rules.
The alleged incident occurred after Vinícius scored the decisive goal for Real Madrid and celebrated in front of the Benfica supporters. Moments later, the Brazilian reported that Prestianni had directed a racist comment toward him, leading to a temporary suspension of the match as officials activated UEFA’s anti-racism protocol.
Vinícius’ complaint sparked widespread reaction within football, with teammates and coaches expressing strong support for the forward and urging decisive action if the claims are substantiated.
Prestianni has firmly denied the accusations, and Benfica have backed their player while cooperating with UEFA’s investigation.
UEFA has stressed that the provisional suspension does not represent a final verdict, and further disciplinary measures could follow once the investigation is completed.
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