Benfica is unwavering in their backing of Gianluca Prestianni after UEFA imposed a temporary one-match suspension on him for allegedly directing racist remarks at Vinicius Junior last week.

As a result, Prestianni will sit out the second leg of the play-off scheduled for Wednesday, following the controversial incidents that erupted after Vinicius scored the decisive goal in the 50th minute of the first leg in Lisbon.

However, ahead of the match, the Portuguese team traveled to Madrid on Tuesday morning with Prestianni accompanying them. According to A Bola, the 20-year-old was met with enthusiastic applause from supporters at Lisbon airport.

Reacting to the provisional suspension, Benfica expressed their disappointment in a statement and announced plans to appeal, hoping for a last-minute decision that would allow the Argentine player to participate.

Club president Rui Costa strongly criticized the ruling on Tuesday, deeming the suspension of Prestianni to be without merit.

Benfica continue to steadfastly back their player Gianluca Prestianni amid allegations he was racist towards Vinicius Junior

The 20-year-old (centre) travelled to Madrid with the squad despite his ban and was greeted warmly by crowds

“There is no evidence, and excluding him from this match is unwarranted,” Costa asserted. “Prestianni is being unfairly branded as a racist, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I can vouch for that.”

UEFA are believed to have put the ban in place over concerns that a handshake would not take place between Prestianni and the Real Madrid players, in an echo of Luis Suarez’s decision not to shake Patrice Evra’s hand when Liverpool faced Manchester United in 2012. 

Should Prestianni be found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius, he could receive a ban of up to 10 matches. 

Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe was among those to back up his team-mate, with Vinicius reporting the incident to referee Francois Letexier in the immediate aftermath. 

Prestianni then claimed that the France captain had ‘misinterpreted what he thinks he heard’. 

After the final whistle, Trent Alexander-Arnold added his voice to those supporting Vinicius as he called out Prestianni’s ‘disgusting’ behaviour. 

But Benfica manager Jose Mourinho was roundly criticised for seemingly blaming Vinicius for provoking the home fans and Prestianni with his exuberant goal celebration. 

Claiming that he did not think that Benfica could be a racist club due to their most famous player, Eusebio, having been black, Mourinho went on to add that he thought Vinicius had ‘incited’ the stadium. 

‘There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium,’ Mourinho added. ‘Every stadium that Vinicius plays (in) something happens. Always.’ 

Manager Jose Mourinho was roundly criticised for his comments after the incident

Daily Mail Sport revealed last week that Mourinho had banned all mention of Real Madrid among his Benfica squad following the allegations of racism, as they focused on their league match on the weekend.

Mourinho, however, did offer comments to Benfica’s in-house media ahead of their match against AVS. 

‘The game (against Real) was truly demanding, in every aspect,’ Mourinho said. ‘Until the 50th minute, it was a game of maximum intensity, both physically and tactically, requiring the concentration needed to play a game of that level. 

‘But I also have to acknowledge that from the 50th minute until now – and this won’t end our conversation – it hasn’t been easy to manage emotionally everything that has happened and continues to happen.’

When questioned about the backlash he has received at a post-match press conference after their 3-0 win over AVS, Mourinho said: ‘I don’t want to comment. I repeat that it has been difficult for everyone, I won’t specify the level of difficulty. 

‘Today we were all able to be professional and do our job.’

Mourinho will not conduct a press conference ahead of Benfica’s second leg against Real Madrid due to being suspended after being shown a red card last week.