European football governing body UEFA has suspended Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni for one match after the Argentine winger was accused of directing a racist slur at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the Spanish side’s 1-0 Champions League playoff first-leg win.
Prestianni will miss Wednesday’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Lisbon.
The suspension is pending the outcome of the ongoing proceedings, as UEFA has appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector 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 and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies. Further information about this matter will be made available in due course,” UEFA said in a statement issued on Monday.
The first leg was suspended for 11 minutes shortly after Vinicius curled Real into the lead five minutes into the second half.
Television footage showed Prestianni covering his mouth with his shirt repeatedly before making comments that Vinicius and nearby team mates interpreted as a racial slur against the 25-year-old forward.
Real Madrid submit evidence to UEFA in Vinicius racism probe
Referee Francois Letexier halted the match after activating FIFA’s anti-racism protocols.
The footage appeared to show Real forward Kylian Mbappe confronting Prestianni and calling him “a bloody racist” while images from the broadcast seemed to show Benfica fans imitating a monkey.
Mbappe told reporters he heard Prestianni direct the same racist remark at Vinicius several times, an allegation also made by Real’s French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
Mbappe said he had been prepared to leave the pitch but was persuaded by Vinicius to continue playing.
Prestianni denied the allegation, saying Vinicius “misunderstood what he thinks he heard”.
Benfica, who last week said they stood by their player, issued a statement on Monday saying they “regret being deprived of the player while the case is still under investigation and will appeal UEFA’s decision.”
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho will not be on the bench for the second leg after receiving a red card for complaining in the first game.
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