After accusations of racism in the Champions League
UEFA bans Prestianni, but violates its own rule
April 24, 2026 – 4:22 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Two months after the meeting between Prestianni and Vinícius Júnior, UEFA banned the Benfica professional. However, the penalty does not fit the association’s catalog of rules.
UEFA announced a penalty for Gianluca Prestianni on Friday afternoon. By decision of the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, the Benfica professional will be banned “for a total of six official games of UEFA clubs and/or national teams for which he would otherwise be eligible to play” due to discriminatory (ie homophobic) behavior.
However, three of these six games are suspended for two years, and the sentence also includes the provisional ban from one game, which Prestianni has already served in the second leg between Benfica Lisbon and Real Madrid on February 25th. Effectively he only has to watch the next two games in a UEFA competition.
However, the continental association has asked FIFA to extend the punishment worldwide. The ban could therefore also have an impact on the Argentine’s participation in the World Cup. He made his debut in the senior national team in November 2025; it is his only appearance so far.
The penalty is surprising when you look at UEFA’s regulations. Article 14 sets a minimum ban of ten games to deal with racism and other discriminatory behavior: “Any entity or person subject to these provisions which violates the human dignity of a person or group of persons for any reason, including colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, shall be subject to a ban of at least ten games or for a specified period or other appropriate sanction.”
The background to the ban is a war of words that Prestianni had with Vinicius Junior on February 17th. The Benfica professional was accused of racially insulting his opponent. Real professional Kylian Mbappé confirmed corresponding statements.
Prestianni himself denied the allegations and received support from his club. Whether this will change in the future remains to be seen. Coach José Mourinho said at the beginning of March that he would throw Prestianni out if the allegations were confirmed.
