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Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has received UEFA's verdict for tonight's Champions League fixture against Real Madrid

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The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Fantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more. Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off! Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni will remain suspended for tonight’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid after his UEFA ban was upheld. Argentinian Prestianni allegedly racially abused Vinicius Junior in the first leg of the teams’ Champions League knockout play-off tie, but continued to play on in the 1-0 loss. After the match, Prestianni insisted the slur he used was a homophobic one, not a racist one, eliciting a one-game suspension from UEFA that would apply to the return leg. Benfica’s appeal against the decision has been thrown out a matter of hours before kick-off, with Benfica admitting the appeal would not ‘have any practical effect’ at such short notice. However, the ban remains a provisional one, subject to an investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector, who has the authority to issue further punishment.

On Tuesday, the game was temporarily stopped in the 60th minute after Vinicius celebrated around the corner flag when he had put Los Blancos 1-0 up with a sumptuous strike from a narrow angle. Prestianni then covered his mouth with his shirt when conversing with Vinicius at the centre circle. Something said between the pair elicited a shocked response from the goalscorer, who immediately alerted referee Francois Letexier to the alleged abuse. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Play was stopped for around 10 minutes in accordance with UEFA’s protocol, during which some fans in the Estadio da Luz were seen making racist gestures towards the winger. After the match, Benfica manager Jose Mourinho suggested Vinicius was to blame for the abuse due to his inflammatory celebration. Mourinho is banned from the second leg for incendiary remarks towards the officials during the match. Following the match, Benfica released sideline footage of the incident, seemingly suggesting that Vinicius would have been unable to hear the alleged slur since he was too far away from Prestianni, who would admit to using a derogatory remark after the match.

During his time in Spain, 25-year-old Vinicius has been subject to 20 separate racist incidents from fans and media personalities alike. His continued stand against racism has unfortunately rendered him the most likely target for abuse, of which instances continue to occur. Last weekend alone, four Premier League footballers were subject to racist abuse on social media. Joseph is a current News Associates trainee studying for his NCTJ qualification after graduating from Durham University with a Physics degree. He spends his free time watching any sport he can find on TV and explaining how his degree is applicable to sports journalism to his family. Joseph supports Arsenal and has years of past Four Four Two magazines storage, but has written on over 20 sports for publications such as The Mirror, London World, and Yahoo. com. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

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