Fifa Suspends Gianluca Prestianni from World Cup
Fifa has shut the World Cup door – at least for now – on Gianluca Prestianni.
The Benfica winger has been handed a global suspension that will rule him out of Argentina’s first two games in the United States next month if Lionel Scaloni names him in his defending champions’ squad.
Uefa ban goes worldwide
Two weeks ago, Uefa hit the 20-year-old with a six-match suspension, three of them deferred on probation, for abusing Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League tie. Prestianni lifted his red Benfica shirt to cover his mouth as he delivered the insult – a gesture that only intensified the spotlight on him.
On Wednesday, Fifa did exactly what Uefa had asked.
“The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by Uefa on Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to have worldwide effect,” the governing body announced, confirming that the punishment now stretches beyond European competition and into the World Cup.
The timing is brutal. Argentina open their title defence against Algeria on 17 June in Kansas City, then face Austria five days later in Arlington, Texas. Jordan complete the group as World Cup debutants. Any Prestianni selection would now come with the knowledge he cannot feature in those first two fixtures.
If Scaloni leaves him out, the remaining games of the ban will instead be served in a Uefa-organised competition next season.
A talent on the fringes
Prestianni is not a mainstay for the national team. He has just a single Argentina appearance, a friendly in November, and he stayed on the bench for their most recent outing, a World Cup warmup against Zambia on 31 March.
When Scaloni called him up in March for that set of warmups, the coach sidestepped the then-ongoing Uefa investigation and framed the decision in football terms, pointing to the absence of Roma veteran Paulo Dybala as a reason to bring in the Benfica winger.
Now the equation changes. A young attacker already fighting for a place in a stacked Argentina squad carries a ban into the sport’s biggest stage.
The incident and its fallout
The case that triggered all this played out in Europe, but its consequences now stretch across the Atlantic.
Uefa opened proceedings after Vinícius, backed by Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé, alleged that Prestianni had used the Spanish word for “monkey” during their Champions League clash, hiding his mouth behind his jersey as he spoke.
Investigators could not prove the racist insult. Prestianni denied that specific slur. He did, however, admit to using a homophobic insult, which formed the basis of Uefa’s punishment.
He has already served one match of the ban, missing the second leg of Benfica’s Champions League knockout playoff against Madrid in February under Uefa’s order.
Now Fifa has stepped in, and the sanction follows him wherever he plays.
A wider shift on abuse
This is not just about one winger and one flashpoint. The game’s lawmakers are moving.
Last week, Fifa successfully pushed through a change at Ifab, the sport’s rule-making body, to make it a red-card offence at the World Cup for players to cover their mouths while insulting an opponent. The image of a player shielding his words with his shirt or hand – once a routine trick to dodge cameras and lip-readers – is being directly targeted.
Prestianni’s case lands squarely in the middle of that shift. A young player, a rising career, and a World Cup defence on the horizon – all suddenly entangled with a disciplinary line the authorities are determined to redraw.
Whether Scaloni decides that gamble is worth taking will say plenty about Argentina’s priorities as they chase back-to-back titles on American soil.
