Benfica’s Prestianni gets provisional one-match ban for Vinicius incident

Benfica’s Prestianni gets provisional one-match ban for Vinicius incidentUEFA announces suspension of Gianluca Prestianni after accusations he racially abused Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.Published On 23 Feb 2026The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said on Monday it has provisionally suspended Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni for one match following accusations he racially abused Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.The decision means that Prestianni will miss Wednesday’s second leg of the Champions League playoff between Real and Benfica at the Bernabeu. Madrid won the first match in Lisbon last Tuesday with Vinicius scoring a second-half winner for a 1-0 victory.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Football matches postponed in Mexico after drug kingpin El Mencho killedlist 2 of 3Eze hurts Tottenham again to reignite Arsenal’s title hopes with 4-1 winlist 3 of 3UEFA and FIFA may get a red card at the ICC for ignoring Israeli violationsend of listThe game was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the Brazil forward scored and celebrated by the Benfica corner flag, upsetting local fans and players. After being confronted by Prestianni, Vinicius accused the Argentine player of calling him “monkey.”Prestianni has denied racially insulting Vinicius.The anti-racism protocol was activated but no further action was taken during the match as there was no evidence against Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt while talking to Vinicius. The Madrid forward was shown a yellow card after his celebration.UEFA said the decision from its control, ethics and disciplinary Body (CEDB) is related to a discriminatory behavior.“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,” it said in a statement.Prestianni, right, speaks towards Vinicius Junior at the time the Real Madrid player was allegedly racially abused [Angel Martinez/Getty Images]FIFA President Gianni Infantino said after the match he was “shocked and saddened to see the incident of alleged racism” and praised the referee for activating the anti-racism protocol.