Feb. 23 (UPI) -- UEFA issued a provisional one-game suspension to Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni after Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. claimed he racially abused him, the European soccer governing body announced Monday.
Prestianni has denied using racist language toward the Brazilian forward. Benfica announced plans to appeal the suspension.
"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," UEFA said in a statement.
Vinicius accused the Argentine forward of directing a racist insult at him after he scored the lone goal of Madrid's 1-0 win over Benfica on Tuesday in Lisbon, Portugal. Both players, who met for a verbal exchange after Vinicius' celebration, received yellow cards.
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