UEFA has provisionally sanctioned Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni for the alleged racist insult to Madrid player Vinicius Junior in the first leg of last week’s Champions League round of 16 tie.
In this way, the Argentine footballer will not be able to play the second leg this Wednesday at the Bernabéu, where Real Madrid will defend a minimal advantage achieved in Lisbon (0-1), according to the decision taken this Monday by the UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.
This organization has considered that “from the outset”prima facie“) Prestianni breached article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations in relation to “discriminatory behaviour”.
Although in this resolution there is no explicit reference to the alleged racist insult that he uttered against Vinicius, in last Tuesday’s match the referee activated the anti-discrimination protocol after the Brazilian player told him those events.
Hours later, Prestianni denied having committed any racist act in the discussion he had with Vinicius on the Da Luz Stadium field after celebrating the goal scored by the Real Madrid forward, ultimately the only one of the match (0-1).
Benfica has already announced that it will appeal this provisional UEFA sanction against, Prestianni covered his mouth at the time of the controversial incident.
–This news will be expanded–
