Prestianni ban: Benfica forward handed provisional one-match suspension after alleged racist abuse to Vinicius Jr

Action was demanded of Uefa after the shameful scenes at the Estadio da Luz last week.

And it has shown it is prepared to move quickly.

European football’s governing body took just 16 hours to open a disciplinary case against Prestianni.

Three working days later and he has been banned, pending the result of a full investigation.

Uefa’s ethics and disciplinary inspector says there is a prima facie case against the Argentina international.

It means that on the initial assessment, the evidence presented is adequate to support the charge of using discriminatory language.

It might seem like a strange step, jumping the gun before a full ruling.

But Uefa has precedent for applying an interim ban in such a case. It shows it recognises when unacceptable behaviour requires fast action.

In 2021, Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela was accused of racially abusing Rangers’ Glen Kamara in the second leg of a Europa League tie at Ibrox.

Much like Prestianni, the Czech Republic international had covered his mouth before approaching Kamara.

In identical timing to Prestianni, Uefa issued an interim one-game ban two days before Slavia Prague were scheduled to play Arsenal in the next round of the competition.

Eight days later, Kudela was banned for 10 games after Uefa found the case proven.

Uefa had to move faster this time because the next game was just a week away. But it has shown consistency in acting when the evidence demands it.