UEFA Sanctions Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni After Racism Allegation Involving Vinicius

Last Updated:April 24, 2026, 19:46 IST

UEFA bans Gianluca Prestianni for six games after racism row with Vinicius Junior, investigation finds him guilty as FIFA is asked to extend the sanction.

The UEFA has issued strong punishment to star Argentina and Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni after his racism row with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior. He has been handed a six-match ban by the board after being under investigation for two months.

In a statement published by UEFA, it was confirmed that Prestianni will be suspended for a further two games, having already served a one-match ban in the second leg against Real Madrid.

The final three games will remain suspended for two years for Prestianni.

Prestianni was accused by Vinícius, who raised the problem with the referee after scoring the only goal of the first leg. The former has denied the allegations, insisting he is being targeted without proof.

“I have never been racist and I never will be. What hurt me the most was to be accused of something I never did. It was something I did not say and they punished me without proof," Prestianni said while speaking to Telefe.

UEFA have now concluded their investigation into the incident and found Prestianni guilty. He had been backed by club president Rui Costa and manager José Mourinho after maintaining that there was nothing in his comments.

The game at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius accused Prestianni of abusing him.

Prestianni, 20, denied making a racist remark and claimed that Vinícius had misheard him. But Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni said that Prestianni admitted to him that he had instead made a homophobic comment towards Vinicius.

UEFA has made a request to their world counterpart, FIFA, to extend the ban worldwide.

Vinicius had put Real 1-0 up in the second half against Benfica, before being booked for an excessive celebration.

After an exchange with Prestianni, Vinícius ran to referee François Letexier while gesturing towards the opposition footballer. The official then made the crossed-arms signal, introduced by FIFA in May 2024, to indicate racist abuse.

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