Vinicius Junior: Benfica’s Gianluca Pristiani has been provisionally suspended for one match after alleged racist abuse.

Benfica’s Gianluca Pristiani has been provisionally suspended for one match after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior reported alleged racist abuse during a Champions League tie last week.

Vinicius informed referee François Letexier that he was subjected to racist abuse by the Argentine winger during the first leg of the Champions League preliminary round in Lisbon last Tuesday.

UEFA announced the temporary ban on Monday after appointing an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident.

The European Union said other sanctions may be imposed once the investigation is completed.

Pristiani denied directing any racist abuse towards the Brazilian.

Real Madrid and Benfica meet in the return match in the Spanish capital on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Last week’s first-leg match was stopped for 10 minutes after Vinicius alerted field official Letexer to the second-half incident, before he and his teammates temporarily left the field.

This came after Vinicus (25 years old) scored an amazing goal and then received a yellow card for his celebrations in front of Benfica fans.

Benfica coach Jose Mourinho, who was suspended for the second leg after being sent off later in the match, was criticized for his comments after the match after he said he believed Vinicius celebrated in a disrespectful manner.

Due to his suspension, Mourinho will not speak to the media before the match, but Benfica have the option of making the assistant coach available instead.