Benfica have released an official statement following reports that Gianluca Prestianni allegedly told teammates what he said to Vinicius Junior.
Prestianni was handed a one-match suspension by UEFA, prima facie, after Vinicius Junior accused him of racial abuse during the first leg of the Champions League play-off between Real Madrid and Benfica.
Vinicius made the claim to referee Francois Letexier shortly after scoring the match’s only goal in the second half, with the alleged incident reportedly occurring during the pre-kickoff preparations.
Prestianni, who denies the allegations, missed the second leg after UEFA received an interim report on the matter from an appointed ethics advisor.
A full inquiry is still ongoing, and if found guilty, the Argentine could face a minimum 10-match ban.
The Times reported on Tuesday that Prestianni is expected to claim he used a homophobic insult towards Vinicius after mocking his height, rather than a racial slur. Such an offense would still incur a significant suspension under Article 14 of UEFA’s anti-discrimination regulations, which state that any player who “insults human dignity on grounds of sexual orientation, gender, race or religion” may face a 10-match ban.
Portuguese media suggested on Thursday that Prestianni admitted to teammates that he had used a racial slur against Vinicius.
Benfica quickly denied this claim, issuing a formal statement.
The statement (via Sky Sports) read: “Sport Lisboa e Benfica categorically denies that the player Prestianni has communicated to the squad or the club’s management that he uttered a racist insult towards Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr.
“As previously reported, the player apologized to his teammates for the incident during the match against Real Madrid, regretting its impact and consequences, and has consistently stated that he is not racist.”
What happens next?
Having only received a one-match suspension from UEFA, Prestianni is eligible to return to Benfica while the full investigation continues.
The 20-year-old has already served a two-match suspension, including a one-match ban for accumulating excessive yellow cards in Liga Portugal.
He could feature in Benfica’s away match against Gil Vicente on March 2 if manager Jose Mourinho decides to reinstate him. Prior to his suspensions, Prestianni had started in each of the last nine fixtures.
The timeline for UEFA’s ethics committee to reach a final verdict remains unclear. Similar cases have been resolved in a matter of weeks, but there is no fixed period for completing an investigation.
In 2021, Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela was given a 10-match ban by UEFA after racially abusing Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara in a Europa League tie on March 18. Kudela’s ban was confirmed on April 14—27 days after the initial accusation.
