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Álvaro Arbeloa: We would have done whatever Vinicius Jr. wanted (1:17)
Real Madrid head coach Álvaro Arbeloa has backed Vinicius Jr. after he claimed he was racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni. (1:17)
Feb 23, 2026, 02:21 PM
UEFA has provisionally suspended Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni for Wednesday's Champions League match against Real Madrid following the incident with Vinicius Junior in last week's first leg.
A UEFA statement read: "Following the appointment of a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 Knock-out Playoff match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid CF on 17 February 2026, and upon request of the EDI with an interim report, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) today decided to provisionally suspend Mr. Gianluca Prestianni for the next (1) UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible for the prima facie violation of Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) related to a discriminatory behaviour.
"This is without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies. Further information about this matter will be made available in due course."