Benfica’s Prestianni gets provisional one-match ban for Vinicius incident

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) says it has provisionally suspended Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni for one match after accusations he racially abused Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr, Aljazeera reported. 

The decision, announced on Monday, means that Prestianni will miss Wednesday’s second leg of the Champions League playoff between Real and Benfica at the Bernabeu. Madrid won the first match in Lisbon on Tuesday with Vinicius scoring a second-half winner for a 1-0 victory.

The game was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the Brazil forward scored and celebrated by the Benfica corner flag, upsetting local fans and players. After being confronted by Prestianni, Vinicius accused the Argentinian player of calling him “monkey”.