UEFA suspends Benfica winger over Vinicius Jnr racism allegation

UEFA has provisionally suspended Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni over alleged discriminatory behaviour during a Champions League clash with Real Madrid in which he allegedly made a racism remark against Vinicius Jnr.

The Argentine midfielder will miss the second leg of the knockout phase play-off at the Santiago Bernabeu after Vinicius Junior accused him of making racist remarks.

The incident happened during the first leg at the Estadio da Luz on February 17, 2026.

Prestianni was involved in a heated exchange with Vinicius after the Brazilian opened the scoring.

The 20-year-old covered his mouth with his shirt during the interaction.

Vinicius Junior ran to the referee to lodge a complaint, prompting a 10-minute stoppage as UEFA protocols were activated.

UEFA later confirmed that an investigation had been opened.

In a statement issued on Monday, the governing body 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.”

According to Sky News, Prestianni could face a minimum 10-game ban once investigations are concluded.

Reacting after the match, Vinicius said: “Racists are, above all, cowards.

“They need to put their shirts in their mouths to show how weak they are.

“But they have the protection of others who, theoretically, have an obligation to punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or in my team’s life.

“I received a yellow card for celebrating a goal. I still don’t understand why.

“On the other hand, it was just a poorly executed protocol that served no purpose.

“I don’t like to appear in situations like this, especially after a big win and when the headlines should be about Real Madrid, but it’s necessary.”

Prestianni denied the allegation.

He said: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults to Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.

I was never racist with anyone and I regret the threats I received from Real Madrid players.”

The investigation by UEFA and Portuguese authorities remains ongoing.