UEFA has provisionally suspended Gianluca Prestianni for one match following allegations of racist abuse directed at Vinicius Junior during last week’s Champions League playoff first leg.
The Benfica winger will miss the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. UEFA stated that the suspension will remain in place pending the outcome of ongoing disciplinary proceedings. An Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to investigate the allegations of discriminatory behaviour.
“This is without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation,” UEFA said in a statement.
Match Halted After Incident
The Lisbon match was halted for 11 minutes after referee François Letexier activated FIFA’s anti-racism protocol. Television footage showed Prestianni covering his mouth with his shirt before speaking to Vinicius, prompting protests from Real Madrid players.
Images also showed forward Kylian Mbappé confronting Prestianni and calling him “a bloody racist.”
Mbappé later told reporters he heard the same racist remark directed at Vinicius multiple times and had considered leaving the pitch before being persuaded to continue.
“We cannot accept that there is a player in Europe’s top football competition who behaves like this,” Mbappé said. “This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.”“We cannot accept that there is a player in Europe’s top football competition who behaves like this,” Mbappé said. “This guy doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore.”
Denial and Club Support
Prestianni denied the allegation, saying Vinicius “misunderstood what he thinks he heard.” He later claimed he used an Argentine homophobic slur that closely sounds like “mono,” the Spanish word for monkey.
Meanwhile, Benfica have publicly backed their player. Vinicius later expressed his frustration on Instagram, writing:
“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouth with their shirt to show how weak they are.”
Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out criticised attempts to shift focus onto Vinicius’ goal celebration after Benfica coach José Mourinho suggested he had incited the crowd. Mourinho will miss the second leg after being sent off in the first match.
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