Gianluca Prestianni receives ban for ‘homophobic conduct’ following Vinicius Jr incident

Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth when speaking to Vinicius Jr (AFP/Getty)

Gianluca Prestianni has received a six-game ban, with three of those matches suspended and one of them already served, for “homophobic” conduct after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr said he was racially abused by the Benfica and Argentina player during a Champions League match in February.

The ruling follows an investigation into “discriminatory behaviour” by Uefa, after Vinicius Jr alleged Prestianni had made a racist slur towards him. Prestianni denied the charge of using racist language, but was suspended from playing in the return leg of their Champions League play-off two months ago.

Uefa’s ruling on Friday confirmed the following:

• To suspend SL Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni for a total of six (6) Uefa club and/or representative national team official matches for which he would otherwise be eligible, for discriminatory (i.e. homophobic) conduct. The suspension for three (3) of these matches is subject to a probationary period of two (2) years, starting from the date of the present decision.

• This decision (i.e. the six-match suspension) includes the one-match provisional suspension served by the player during UEFA Champions League 2025/26 knock-out play-off match played on 25 February 2026 between Real Madrid CF and SL Benfica.

• To request Fifa to extend worldwide the above-mentioned suspension.