S.L. Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni has denied racially abusing Vinícius Júnior during last week’s UEFA Champions League clash against Real Madrid C.F..
Prestianni has been handed a provisional one-match suspension by UEFA and is set to miss the second leg of the play-off tie. The incident reportedly occurred after Vinícius scored the winning goal in the first leg in Lisbon and celebrated in front of Benfica supporters.
The 20-year-old Argentine is alleged to have used the word “mono” — Spanish for “monkey” — toward Vinícius. However, Prestianni has denied making a racist remark. According to reports, he claims instead to have used a homophobic slur in response to alleged comments about his height.
Standing at 5ft 5in, Prestianni is among the shorter players in the competition. Reports suggest his defence is that he reacted after being taunted. However, insiders have indicated that such claims would not justify the use of discriminatory language under UEFA regulations.
Vinícius reported the alleged abuse to the referee during the match, which was subsequently delayed for approximately 10 minutes. Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé also stated after the game that he heard the alleged insult multiple times and called for strict consequences.
Both racist and homophobic abuse constitute breaches of Article 14 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations and can carry significant sanctions. If found guilty, Prestianni could face a ban of up to 10 matches.
Benfica have defended the player, expressing regret over the provisional suspension and announcing plans to appeal. Club president Rui Costa described the ban as unjustified, stating that nothing has been proven and rejecting claims that Prestianni is racist.
UEFA’s provisional suspension is reportedly linked to concerns about potential tensions during pre-match formalities in the return fixture. The governing body’s investigation remains ongoing.
