Gianluca Prestianni, a winger for Benfica, has been placed on temporary suspension by UEFA after being accused of racist actions during a Champions League play-off match against Real Madrid.
Benfica will be without the 20-year-old for the pivotal match as a result of Prestianni’s choice to forego the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius Junior, a forward for Real Madrid, filed a complaint that led to the suspension.
On February 17, 2026 at Estadio da Luz, Vinicius opened the score in the first leg before the incident.
During a conversation with the Brazilian, Prestianni was seen on television concealing his lips with his shirt.
After Vinicius went straight to the referee to report the incident, UEFA’s anti-discrimination protocol was triggered, resulting in a 10-minute halt.
Read UEFA statement below;
In a statement confirming interim measures, UEFA said: “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,” it added.
UEFA affirmed that a formal inquiry is still ongoing and that its disciplinary bodies will get the results. Authorities in Portugal are also looking into the event.
Depending on the ultimate decision, Benfica’s squad preparation may be further affected by the outcome.
For the time being, Prestianni’s absence makes it harder for the Portuguese team to overcome the Madrid deficit.
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