Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni handed provisional ban by UEFA over alleged racism incident towards Real Madrid's Vinicius

Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni has been provisionally suspended from playing in Wednesday’s Champions League second-leg match against Real Madrid. The decision was made by UEFA following an alleged racism incident involving Vinicius Junior last week and its disciplinary panel is still investigating the events of the first leg. In a statement, the governing body said the suspension relates to a possible breach of Article 14 of its disciplinary rules, which deals discriminatory behavior and added that the temporary ban does not affect any final decision that may be issued later.

“Upon request of the EDI with an interim report, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body today decided to provisionally suspend Mr. Gianluca Prestianni for the next UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible for the prima facie violation of Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations related to a discriminatory behaviour," UEFA statement read.

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Prestianni, who argued with Vinicius while covering his mouth with his shirt, insists he did not racially abuse the Real Madrid forward. Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said the incident was a "disgrace to football", while striker Kylian Mbappe said Prestianni "doesn't deserve to play in the Champions League any more".

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Benfica coach Jose Mourinho, who is also suspended for the second leg, controversially criticised Vinicius for his effusive goal celebration and said his club could not be racist because their greatest icon, Eusebio, was black.

With inputs from agencies