Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica has been provisionally suspended for one match by UEFA following an incident involving Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie, the European governing body confirmed on Monday.

Prestianni will miss Wednesday’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Lisbon.

The Argentine player reportedly covered his mouth with his shirt and insulted Vinicius shortly after the Brazilian opened the scoring. Prestianni denies the claims that the insult was racist, despite allegations from Vinicius and multiple Real Madrid players.

UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Commission continues to investigate, and a longer suspension could still be imposed. The governing body said:

“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.”

Benfica has defended Prestianni and confirmed it will appeal the provisional ruling.

“The club regrets being deprived of the player while the process is still under investigation and will appeal this UEFA decision, even if the timelines are unlikely to affect the second leg. Benfica reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating all forms of racism and discrimination, values embedded in the club’s history and actions,” the statement read.

The first-leg match was briefly halted by referee Francois Letexier after activating FIFA’s anti-racism protocols. Broadcast footage appeared to show Real forward Kylian Mbappe confronting Prestianni, calling him “a bloody racist,” while images suggested Benfica fans made monkey gestures.

Prestianni has insisted that Vinicius “misunderstood what he thinks he heard.” Mbappe and Real’s Aurelien Tchouameni claimed the remark was repeated several times. Mbappe added he was ready to leave the pitch but was persuaded by Vinicius to continue.

“We cannot accept that there is a player in Europe’s top competition who behaves like this. Prestianni doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” Mbappe said.

Vinicius shared his own statement on social media, expressing frustration:

“Racists are, above all, cowards. They need to cover their mouth with their shirt to show their weakness. But they have the protection of others who should punish them. Nothing that happened today is new in my life or my family’s life.”

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out criticized the focus on Vinicius’ goal celebration instead of the incident itself, calling it a “form of gaslighting” and warning that it sends the wrong message to victims worldwide.

Jose Mourinho, Benfica’s coach, will not be on the bench for the second leg after receiving a red card for complaining during the first match.