Fifa has confirmed a global ban for Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, which will rule him out of two World Cup games in the United States if he is selected in Argentina's squad. The 20-year-old was handed a six-match suspension by Uefa two weeks ago for verbally abusing Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match. Prestianni covered his mouth with his jersey while using the insult.
Fifa Extends Ban Worldwide
As expected, Fifa has now fulfilled Uefa's request to apply the ban beyond European competitions to the World Cup, which starts next month. The world governing body's disciplinary committee decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by Uefa to have worldwide effect. This means that if Prestianni is included in Argentina's squad to defend their World Cup title, he would miss two matches.
Argentina's World Cup Campaign
It remains unclear whether Prestianni is still in coach Lionel Scaloni's plans. Argentina begins their campaign against Algeria on 17 June in Kansas City, followed by a match against Austria five days later in Arlington, Texas. Their group also includes World Cup debutant Jordan. If Prestianni is not selected, he will serve the remainder of his ban in a Uefa-organized European competition next season.
Prestianni, who has one Argentina cap from a friendly in November, was an unused substitute in Argentina's most recent warmup against Zambia on 31 March. When Scaloni called him up in March, he did not address the ongoing Uefa investigation, noting he needed the Benfica player due to the unavailability of Roma veteran Paulo Dybala.
Investigation and Previous Ban
Uefa investigated Prestianni for a racist insult alleged by Vinícius, supported by Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé. They claimed Prestianni used the Spanish word for monkey, which he disguised by raising his red jersey to cover his mouth. Uefa could not prove the racial insult, which Prestianni denied, though he admitted using a homophobic slur. Prestianni already served the first game of his ban by missing the second leg of the Champions League knockout playoff against Madrid in February.
New Rule on Covering Mouth
Last week, Fifa's push to make it a red card offense for World Cup players to cover their mouth when insulting an opponent was passed by Ifab, soccer's rule-making panel.
