On Friday, UEFA announced a six-match ban for Benfica‘s Gianluca Prestianni due to anti-gay remarks directed toward Real Madrid‘s Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League encounter in February. Of the total ban, three matches are suspended for a period of two years.
This suspension includes the match Prestianni already missed in February while awaiting the decision, meaning he will sit out just two more games unless he incurs the suspended three-match ban.
During the playoff first leg, Vinícius accused Prestianni of racial abuse, leading to a 10-minute stoppage in play in the second half.
Vinícius netted the opening goal for Madrid in the 50th minute during their 1-0 victory in Lisbon, celebrating near the corner flag where he had a confrontation with Prestianni.
Prestianni was seen speaking to Vinícius while obscuring his mouth with his jersey, prompting the Brazil star to signal to the referee.
Vinícius then communicated with referee Francois Letexier, who responded with an “arms-crossed” gesture indicating a claim of racist abuse.
However, sources have informed ESPN’s Bruno Andrade that the 20-year-old Argentinian stated he used the anti-gay slur “m——” in Spanish, rather than “mono,” which translates to monkey.
According to Article 14 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations, penalties for both racist and anti-gay abuse are equivalent.
“Any entity or individual subject to these regulations who insults someone’s dignity on any grounds, including race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, faces a suspension of at least ten matches or another appropriate sanction,” the regulations stipulate.
Following the match, UEFA launched an ethics and disciplinary investigation that concluded on Friday, determining Prestianni’s actions were anti-gay in nature, not racist.
UEFA has requested that FIFA enforce the ban on a global scale.
Last month, Benfica was also fined due to racist behavior exhibited by fans during the same match.
In a statement released on Friday, Benfica acknowledged the disciplinary action: “Sport Lisboa e Benfica confirms that it has been notified by UEFA regarding the sanction imposed on player Prestianni for using anti-gay language during the Benfica vs. Real Madrid match. Prestianni has been sanctioned with a six-match ban, three matches of which are suspended for a period of two years. Of the effective ban, one match has been served, leaving two matches to be completed in UEFA competitions or within FIFA context with the Argentina national team.”
Information from PA contributed to this report.