FIFA extends ban on Prestianni to World Cup for abusing Vinícius Jr
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Geneva: FIFA has confirmed a worldwide extension of the suspension imposed on Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni, ruling him out of two matches at the upcoming World Cup in the United States if he is selected for the national squad.
The decision follows a request from UEFA, which had earlier handed Prestianni a six-match ban — with three games suspended on probation — for verbally abusing Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League fixture. The Benfica player was seen covering his mouth with his jersey while delivering the insult.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by UEFA on Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to have worldwide effect,” FIFA said in an official statement.
It remains uncertain whether Prestianni features in the plans of Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup title defence. Argentina are scheduled to open their campaign against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City, followed by a match against Austria on June 22 in Arlington, Texas. The group stage also includes tournament debutants Jordan.
The 20-year-old winger has made just one senior appearance for Argentina, coming in a friendly in November. He was also an unused substitute in the team’s most recent outing — a World Cup warm-up match against Zambia on March 31.
When naming his squad for the March friendlies, Scaloni did not comment on the ongoing UEFA investigation but indicated that Prestianni’s inclusion was due to the absence of Paulo Dybala.
UEFA had launched an investigation following allegations from Vinícius, supported by his Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé, that Prestianni used a racist insult — specifically the Spanish word for “monkey” — while attempting to conceal his words by covering his mouth with his shirt.
While UEFA stated it could not conclusively prove the racial abuse, which Prestianni denied, the player admitted to using a homophobic slur, leading to disciplinary action.
Prestianni has already served one match of his suspension after being barred from Benfica’s Champions League knockout playoff second leg against Real Madrid in February.
In a related development, football’s law-making body IFAB recently approved a rule change, backed by FIFA, making it a red-card offence for players to cover their mouths while insulting opponents during matches.
If Prestianni is not included in Argentina’s World Cup squad, the remainder of his suspension will be served in UEFA club competitions next season.
With PTI inputs