Gianluca Prestianni will miss Benfica’s second-leg Champions League match against Real Madrid after Uefa rejected the club’s appeal against his suspension.
The 20-year-old Argentine winger received a provisional one-match ban following allegations of racist abuse made by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr during last week’s 1-0 first-leg defeat.
Benfica appealed the ban but acknowledged it was unlikely to be lifted before Wednesday’s return at the Bernabeu. Uefa imposed the suspension provisionally while a full investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector continues. Additional sanctions may still follow depending on the outcome.
Prestianni trained with Benfica at Real Madrid’s stadium in the hope of overturning the suspension. However, Uefa’s Appeals Body dismissed the request, keeping him sidelined for the next European fixture. The player denies the allegations.
Vinicius Jr had informed referee Francois Letexier that he experienced racial abuse during the match, which briefly halted play for 10 minutes as the Real Madrid players left the pitch. Vinicius had also received a yellow card for celebrating in front of Benfica supporters after scoring the decisive goal.
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said Prestianni had acted disrespectfully and provoked the crowd. Mourinho, who is also banned for the second leg, faced criticism for these comments, with former Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf stating that justifying racial abuse was a serious error.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said the celebration of Vinicius should not be used to justify alleged abuse. “I think we have to be less stupid as a society,” he added.
