FIFA extends Prestianni’s sanction worldwide

The Argentine footballer Gianluca Prestianni could not play the first two games of this summer’s World Cup if he is called up by his national team after the worldwide extension of his sanction for homophobically insulting the Real Madrid player Vinícius Junior.

The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee (CEDB) imposed a six-match ban on Prestianni on April 24, after the Portuguese SL Benfica player admitted having used homophobic language towards the Madrid winger during the match between both teams in the first leg of the Champions League playoff.

The accusation that he had racially insulted Vinicius was not considered proven and three of the six matches were suspended for a period of two years, while one had already been provisionally fulfilled in the second leg between the two teams.

FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, has now accepted UEFA’s request to extend the sanction globally, so it would include Argentina’s first two matches in the World Cup, but not the pre-tournament friendlies.

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by UEFA on SL Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to have worldwide effect. The sanction has been extended in accordance with article 70 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” confirmed a FIFA spokesperson.

Prestianni has only played one game for Argentina’s senior team to date, and the extension of the ban now makes his call-up for the World Cup by Lionel Scaloni very unlikely, so it is most likely that he will serve the ban in next season’s Champions League.