UEFA announce Vinicius Jr racism verdict: Benfica star banned but there’s a catch

Benfica attacker Gianluca Prestianni has been provisionally suspended by UEFA amid an ongoing investigation into the racist abuse he allegedly directed at Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr.

Last week, Los Blancos’ Champions League clash with Portuguese giants Benfica descended into chaos when referee Francois Letexier initiated the anti-racism protocol following Vinicius Jr’s stunning opening goal and eventual winner.

Benfica attacker Gianluca Prestianni took exception to the Brazilian’s celebration and confronted him. Vinicius and teammate Kylian Mbappe interpreted the comments made by the 20-year-old while covering his mouth with his shirt as racist insults.

Letexier stopped the match for 11 minutes after being informed by Vinicius, and the incident overshadowed the remainder of the game as Real Madrid held on to their advantage.

Prestianni has strenuously denied making any racist comments, while Benfica boss Jose Mourinho sought to protect his player with an ill-advised statement that implied the blame lay with Vinicius. Both have faced heavy criticism from high-ranking figures around the game and the wider public.

UEFA bans Prestianni but investigation continues

European football’s governing body, UEFA, has now announced that Prestianni has been provisionally suspended for the upcoming second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. However, the investigation into the matter continues, UEFA added in a statement.

“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.”

Some reports have claimed that Prestianni is arguing that he made a homophobic rather than a racist comment, but this will do little to help his case, as homophobia obviously also qualifies as discriminatory behaviour and ought to be punished in much the same fashion as racism.

Benfica, for their part, have announced that they will appeal this ruling as they “regret being deprived ‌of the player while the case is still under investigation and will appeal UEFA’s decision.”

The club have also stated that Jose Mourinho will not carry out his pre-match media duties, although they did not reveal whether this was due to the criticism he faced for his post-match comments last week or because he is suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg.

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