Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni handed provisional one-match following Vinicius Jr incident

Gianluca Prestianni confronts Vinicius Junior — Gianluca Prestianni confronted Vinicius Junior after the Real Madrid star's goal (Image credit: Getty Images)

UEFA have handed Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni a provisional one-match ban following Vinicius Jr’s reporting of alleged racist abuse during the Portuguese side’s Champions League play-off first leg last week.

The two sides are due to meet again at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening, with the Argentine now set to miss the second leg following the UEFA judgment.

Gianluca Prestianni hit with provisional ban

Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid speaks to Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of Benfica, after a clash with Gianluca Prestianni during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid C.F. at Estadio do SL Benfica on February 17, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. — The match was halted for ten minutes following the second half incident (Image credit: Octavio Passos - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The incident occurred during the second half of last week’s Champions League play-off first leg, with Vinicius telling referee Francois Letexier that he had been racially abused by Prestianni following the Brazilian’s stunning goal.

Vincius was then booked for his celebration in front of the Benfica fans.

Vincent Kompany defends Vini Jr and criticizes José Mourinho for his statements after the game pic.twitter.com/FC5BZSmJxbFebruary 20, 2026

The tie was halted for ten minutes after Vincius alerted Letexier, with the Real Madrid side then leaving the pitch.

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, who was later sent off and will also miss Wednesday’s second leg, was criticised for his post-match comments when he said be believed that Vinicius celebration was disrespectful.

He now faces the prospect of his winger missing out on the second leg in Madrid, despite the investigation remaining ongoing, due UEFA’s ruling that there is enough evidence to support a ‘prima facie violation’ based on the available evidence.

The UEFA statement continued: “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."

Benfica quickly issued a response to Prestianni’s ban, saying that the club "regrets being deprived of the player while the process is still under investigation”, adding that they would launch an appeal "even though the deadlines in question are unlikely to have any practical effect on the second leg of the Champions League play-off."

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho gestures during defeat to RB Leipzig in the Champions League in February 2020. — Mourinho is also supsneded for the second leg (Image credit: Getty Images)

If UEFA find Prestianni guilty of racism then he could face a ban of up to ten matches.

The term 'prima facie' which UEFA have cited comes from the Latin for 'at first sight' or 'at first look', and means that the party with the burden of proof need only to present enough evidence to create a revbuttable presumption that the matter asserted is true.

UEFA previously used this term in 2021, when Rangers' Glen Kamara accused Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela of racist abuse in a Europa League game. Kudeka would be found guilty and a 10-match ban was upheld.

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For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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