UEFA has provisionally suspended Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid following an incident involving Vinicius Junior in last week’s first-leg match.
The suspension comes after UEFA appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the Champions League Knock-out Playoff match on February 17, 2026.
In a statement, UEFA 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 Playoff 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.”
The provisional ban means Prestianni will miss the second leg against Real Madrid, while the investigation continues. UEFA has not yet provided details of the alleged incident but confirmed that further updates will be released after the disciplinary process concludes.
