UEFA bans Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni over claims of racist incident

UEFA has temporarily barred Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni from participating in the Champions League play-off return fixture versus Real Madrid this week, following accusations of racial mistreatment towards Vinicius Junior.

The governing bodys disciplinary panel, currently probing the supposed event from the initial leg last week, announced in an official release that they have "opted to temporarily exclude Mr Gianluca Prestianni from the forthcoming UEFA club competition game for which he would normally qualify".

As a result, Prestianni cannot take part for Benfica on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the Portuguese team aims to reverse a 1-0 disadvantage and advance to the round of sixteen.

Vinicius, the Brazil international, netted the decisive strike and alerted the match official to the purported racist behaviour right after his goal celebration, causing a halt in play for approximately ten minutes.

UEFA noted that Prestiannis temporary ban of one match "remains subject to any future decisions by the UEFA disciplinary authorities after the investigations current probe concludes".

Should UEFA determine that the 20-year-old Prestianni did racially target Vinicius, he faces a suspension of at least ten games.

Prestianni, who clashed with Vinicius while hiding his mouth behind his shirt, maintains that he committed no racial offence against the Real Madrid attacker.

Real Madrid full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold described the episode as a "stain on the sport of football", whereas forward Kylian Mbappe declared Prestianni "no longer worthy of Champions League involvement".

Benfica manager Jose Mourinho, himself sidelined for the return match, sparked debate by condemning Vinicius extravagant goal routine and asserting his team could not harbour racism given their legendary figure Eusebio was of African descent.