On Wednesday, FIFA announced a global ban for Gianluca Prestianni, which will prevent the Benfica winger from participating in two World Cup matches in the United States, should he be included in Argentina‘s roster.
Two weeks ago, UEFA issued Prestianni a six-match suspension, with three of those matches deferred on probation, due to his verbal abuse directed at Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match, where he covered his mouth with his jersey while hurling insults.
FIFA has now, as anticipated, acted on UEFA’s request to extend the ban to include World Cup matches as the tournament approaches.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by UEFA on Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to take effect worldwide,” the organization stated.
It remains uncertain whether Prestianni will be part of Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni’s plans as they aim to defend their World Cup title. Argentina’s opening match is against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City, followed by a game against Austria five days later in Arlington, Texas. They are also grouped with World Cup debutants Jordan.
The 20-year-old winger made his sole appearance for Argentina in a friendly back in November and was an unused substitute in their latest match, a World Cup warmup against Zambia on March 31.
When Scaloni included Prestianni in March for the warmup matches, he did not address the UEFA investigation, citing the need for the Benfica player in the absence of Paulo Dybala.
UEFA had investigated Prestianni regarding a racist insult allegedly directed at Vinícius, with support from Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé. They accused Prestianni of using the Spanish term for “monkey,” which he purportedly concealed by lifting his red jersey to cover his mouth.
Though UEFA could not substantiate the claim of a racist insult, which Prestianni denied, he did admit to using an anti-gay slur.
Prestianni has already served the first match of his ban, which prevented him from playing against Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League knockout playoff in February.
Recently, FIFA successfully pushed for a new rule stating that covering one’s mouth to insult an opponent will now be considered a red card offense in World Cup play, as approved by soccer’s rule-making body, IFAB.
If Prestianni is not selected by Argentina, he will need to complete the remainder of his ban in a UEFA-organized European competition next season.