Will Gianluca Prestianni Play Tonight Against Real Madrid in UCL Second Leg?

While the investigation into the Gianluca Prestianni controversy is in full swing, UEFA has taken some momentary action against the Argentine, who will now miss the 2nd leg of the Real Madrid vs Benfica match.

In the 1st leg of the Play-off fixture, Vinicus Jr. broke the deadlock in the 50th minute at Estadio da Luz. Shortly after the celebrations ended and the game went for a reset, the Brazilian was seen having an altercation with Prestianni, who had allegedly directed racial insults towards Vinicus.

Following the incident, the match referee, Francois Letexier, stopped the game for 11 minutes under the anti-racism protocol. After the full-time whistle was blown, many Real Madrid players, including one of the best strikers, Kylian Mbappe, had accused Prestianni of throwing a racial slur towards Vinicius Jr. Since then, the allegations have been denied by the Argentine and Benfica in multiple club and player statements.

While EDI's investigation into the matter takes its course, UEFA has issued sanctions on Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni for the 2nd leg of the Real Madrid vs Benfica match.

What Led to The Gianluca Prestianni Ban

After scoring the only goal of the match, Vinicus Jr. was walking past the Benfica players before having an altercation with Gianluca Prestianni. Shortly after, the Brazilian ran towards the referee, stating he had been racially abused by the 20-year-old. Since the game, multiple statements from UEFA and Benfica addressed the matter at hand, and eventually, UEFA handed Prestianni a temporary sanction amid the investigation.

As per UEFA's suspension, Gianluca Prestianni will miss Wednesday's game at Santiago Bernabeu. However, multiple sources suggest that the Argentine will travel with the team and be in attendance at Santiago Bernabeu today.

Since the allegations have been directed towards the number 25 of SL Benfica, despite lacking evidence, the club has backed the 20-year-old strongly. Against the one-match ban as per Article 14 of the UEFA DR, the club issued a statement.

What's Next for Benfica and Prestianni?

As things stand, to proceed to the next round, Benfica needs a favorable result in the second leg, after being down a goal deficit from their home game. It certainly isn't impossible, given Jose Mourinho's side caused a major upset against the Los Blancos to qualify for the Play-off back in January 2026.

As per the Argentine's suspension, if UEFA finds the 20-year-old guilty, we can see the Gianluca Prestianni ban increase up to 10 games.