UEFA has announced the suspension of Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni from playing against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 playoff.
Vinicius Junior made clear accusations against Prestianni of directing racist abuse at him during the first leg at the Estádio da Luz, prompting UEFA to open an investigation into the matter, with the involvement of numerous parties including FIFA and the Portuguese government.
Prestianni maintained his innocence, and Benfica coach José Mourinho requested that he be included in the squad for the second leg. The prevailing sentiment within Benfica was to allow him to play in the match scheduled for the Santiago Bernabéu.
UEFA issued a statement on Monday confirming that, due to the events of the first leg, Prestianni has been suspended for one Champions League match.
The statement continued, “Following the inspector’s request and preliminary report, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body has today provisionally suspended Mr. Gianluca Prestianni for his next UEFA club competition match due to a preliminary breach of Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations concerning discriminatory conduct.”
It should be noted that this decision does not preclude any further action that may be taken by UEFA’s disciplinary bodies after the ongoing investigation is concluded and its findings are submitted to them.
