Benfica’s Prestianni provisionally suspended by Uefa after Vinícius incident

Uefa has suspended Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Real Madrid after the incident with Vinícius Júnior

Uefa has provisionally suspended Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for Wednesday’s Champions League playoff match against Real Madrid after allegations that he racially abused Vinícius Júnior during last week’s first leg.

The ban has been imposed pending the completion of a Uefa investigation and Benfica said they would appeal against the decision. The Portuguese club said they regretted being “deprived” of the player while the process was continuing but acknowledged their appeal was unlikely to prevent Prestianni from being suspended for the return in Madrid.

Vinícius alleged that Prestianni racially abused him during Madrid’s 1-0 win in Lisbon, prompting Uefa to appoint an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate. Uefa said further punishment could be handed out once its investigation has been completed. Prestianni has denied racist abuse.

If Uefa finds the Argentinian guilty of racism he could face a 10-match ban. Uefa said the provisional ban was “without prejudice to any ruling that the Uefa disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the Uefa disciplinary bodies”.

Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.

If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.

In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications.

Turn on sport notifications.

Benfica said: “The club regrets being deprived of the player while the process is still under investigation and will appeal this Uefa decision, even if the applicable timelines are unlikely to have any practical effect on the second leg of the Champions League playoff.

“Benfica also reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating all forms of racism and discrimination – values that are part of its historical identity and reflected in its daily actions, its global community, the work of the Benfica Foundation, and major figures in the club’s history, such as Eusébio.”

Benfica said last week they would collaborate with the investigation but outlined their support for Prestianni, who they said was “victim” of a “smear campaign”.

The game was delayed for 10 minutes after Vinícius scored the only goal, with Madrid’s players initially prepared to walk off, after Prestianni said something to Vinícius while covering his mouth with his shirt. Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé has accused Prestianni of calling Vinícius a monkey five times.

Vinícius did not speak after the match but posted a message on Instagram that said: “Racists are above all cowards [who] need to put their shirts over their mouth to demonstrate how weak they are.”

Prestianni wrote on Instagram: “I want to clarify that at no time did I direct racist insults at Vini Jr, who regrettably misunderstood what he thought he heard.”

Benfica’s manager, José Mourinho, who was accused of gaslighting for referencing Vinícius’s goal celebration when talking about the incident, will not give a pre-game press conference on Tuesday. Benfica said his assistant João Tralhão would conduct media duties at the Bernabéu.

Mourinho has the option not to speak to the media because he will be serving a touchline ban after being sent off in the first leg.