UEFA Issues Six-Match Suspension to Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni Following Racist Abuse of Vinícius Júnior

Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni receives a six-match suspension from UEFA for racist behavior. FIFA may extend the ban to the 2026 World Cup.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 24, 2026, 9:14 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Ysscores

A Final Ruling on the Estádio da Luz Incident

The long-running investigation into the conduct of Gianluca Prestianni concluded on Friday, April 24, 2026, with UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector confirming a multi-match suspension. The ruling stems from a volatile Champions League knockout play-off first leg on February 17, where Prestianni was accused of directing racial slurs toward Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior. The match was famously halted for eight minutes as French referee François Letexier activated UEFA's anti-racism protocol, a rare mid-game intervention at the elite European level.

Structure of the Six-Match Disciplinary Ban

The final penalty mandates a six-match suspension from all UEFA-sanctioned club and national team competitions. However, the governing body has opted for a tiered enforcement strategy: Prestianni will serve an immediate three-match ban, while the remaining three matches are suspended for a two-year probation period. This secondary portion of the penalty will only be triggered if the Argentine player is involved in a similar offense before April 2028. UEFA confirmed that the match Prestianni missed during his provisional suspension—the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu—will count toward the immediate fulfillment of the sentence.

The "Shirt Protocol" and the Investigation Challenges

UEFA’s investigation relied heavily on witness testimony from teammates and match officials after audiovisual evidence proved difficult to parse. During the incident, Prestianni was observed pulling his jersey over his mouth while speaking to Vinícius, a gesture that has since sparked the "Prestianni Law" proposal within FIFA to penalize players who hide their faces during on-field arguments. Despite the lack of lip-reading data, the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector found "prima facie" evidence of discriminatory language, leading to the rejection of Benfica’s final appeal earlier this morning.