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Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has been handed a six-match suspension by UEFA for homophobic behavior directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the Champions League knockout phase playoffs—though he may not be required to serve the entire ban.
Following his match-winning goal at the Estádio da Luz in February, Vinicius Jr claimed the Argentine directed racial abuse at him as both players made their way back to the center circle. The Brazilian, joined by Kylian Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouaméni, all stated that Prestianni called him a "monkey."
Play was halted for 10 minutes as UEFA triggered its anti-racism protocol, and an investigation was subsequently launched in the days that followed. Prestianni, who used his shirt to conceal his mouth while making the remark, denied Vinicius Jr's accusations, instead acknowledging that he had uttered a homophobic slur.
Now, two months on, UEFA has revealed his punishment for the incident—and it is considerably lighter than many had anticipated.
The Details Behind Prestianni's Ban
Prestianni received only a six-match ban across UEFA club and/or representative national team official fixtures for his conduct toward the Real Madrid attacker. Given that he already served a provisional one-game suspension during the second leg of the knockout phase playoffs, his remaining ban has been reduced to five matches.
Three of those matches are additionally suspended, subject to a two-year probationary period. As a result, Prestianni effectively only needs to sit out two further games before being permitted to return to UEFA competition.
The ruling appears lenient in light of Article 14 of UEFA's Disciplinary Regulations: "Any entity or person subject to these regulations who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin color, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction."
What could have amounted to a 10-game suspension was effectively reduced to three by UEFA, and notably, the punishment was not issued on grounds of racism, despite eyewitness accounts from three separate Real Madrid players.
How Prestianni's Suspension Impacts His World Cup Chances
UEFA concluded its statement by calling on FIFA to extend Prestianni's ban on a global scale. If the governing body agrees, the 20-year-old would likely be ruled out of the World Cup.
Already on the periphery of the Argentina squad, Prestianni would almost certainly be passed over by coach Lionel Scaloni, who would be unlikely to allocate a squad place to a suspended player—particularly one with just a single international appearance to his name.
The situation could shift if FIFA rejects UEFA's request, though president Gianni Infantino had previously adopted a strong position regarding Prestianni's behavior. "If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously.
"There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn't have said, otherwise he wouldn't have had to cover his mouth," Infantino stated last month.
A potential new rule concerning players concealing their mouths while speaking to opponents is expected to be on the agenda at the International Football Association Board meeting in Canada ahead of the FIFA Congress on April 30.