Uefa rejects Benfica appeal over Prestianni ban

Gianluca Prestianni will miss the second leg of Benfica’s Champions League tie against Real Madrid after Uefa rejected the club’s appeal against his suspension.

The Argentine winger was handed a provisional one-match ban after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr reported alleged racist abuse during last week’s 1-0 defeat in a knockout round play-off first leg.

Benfica said they would appeal the decision, but accepted it was unlikely to “have any practical effect” before Wednesday’s return at the Bernabeu.

Uefa has imposed the ban on a provisional basis, pending the result of a full investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector, and further punishment could still be handed out to the 20-year-old.

Prestianni trained alongside his Benfica team-mates at Real Madrid’s stadium on Tuesday in the hope his ban could be overturned in time to feature.

But the Portuguese club’s request was dismissed by Uefa’s Appeals Body and the player remains provisionally suspended for their next match in European club competition, which is Wednesday’s game.

Prestianni, who has denied racially abusing Vinicius, would otherwise have been eligible to face the Spanish hosts while the investigation took place.

Vinicius informed referee Francois Letexier that he had been racially abused by Prestianni during last Tuesday’s tie in Lisbon.

The game was halted for 10 minutes after the Brazil forward and his Real Madrid team-mates left the pitch.

Vinicius had also been shown a yellow card for celebrating in front of Benfica supporters after his winning goal, which gave his side a first-leg advantage.

Speaking after the game, Benfica boss Jose Mourinho said the player had acted disrespectfully and incited the crowd.

Mourinho, who is also banned for the second leg after he was sent off later in the match, was criticised for those comments, with former Real midfielder Clarence Seedorf saying the Portuguese manager had “made a big mistake to justify racial abuse”.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said “it bothers me that Vinicius’ celebration is being used against him” and it did not “justify a suspected act of racism”.