The Union of European Football Associations announced its final decision to penalize Benfica's player, Gianluca Prestianni, with a suspension of 6 matches, three of which are suspended, due to racist behavior towards Vinicius Junior during his team's match against Real Madrid in the playoff qualifying for the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

The incident dates back to the match where the Argentine player was accused of directing a racial insult at Vinicius after the latter scored a goal, with the Brazilian stating at the time that he was subjected to an offensive description (anti-gay slurs), prompting UEFA to open an official investigation into the incident.

UEFA's statement clarified that the decision came after an investigation conducted by the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector, confirming Prestianni's suspension for six matches in European club and national team competitions, with the suspension of three matches for two years as a probation period, in case the offense is not repeated.

The statement also noted that the penalty includes the match the player already missed temporarily during the second leg, after applying the discriminatory behavior clause, to finalize the penalty after the player's appeal was rejected.

In a development that may further complicate his situation, UEFA requested FIFA to extend the penalty globally, which could threaten the player's participation in the World Cup if the decision is enforced.