3 min readFeb 23, 2026 09:45 PM IST UEFA have chosen to suspend Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for the blockbuster Champions League knockout stage rematch between the Portuguese giants and Real Madrid at the Spanish capital. Prestianni was accused of racial abuse by Madrid winger Vinicius Jr and UEFA, suspecting that a protest or demonstration of sorts would be unleashed, have chosen to suspend the Argentine ahead of the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the first leg, Vinicius scored the only goal of the game and celebrated. But after what seemed like a back-and-forth conversation between players, he was allegedly called a racial slur by Prestianni, an accusation that’s unclear because of the player pulling his shirt over his mouth. The match was suspended for ten minutes after the Brazilian immediately rushed to complain to the referee and was later backed by teammate Kylian Mbappe who confirmed that he had heard the Benfica player’s words. “Following the appointment of a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the …