The FIFA World Cup has been added to the list of events covered by the UEFA-imposed suspension on Argentine forward Gianluca Prestianni. If the Benfica Lisbon winger is named to Argentina’s national team for the World Cup, he would miss the first two games of the tournament held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The European confederation UEFA had suspended Prestianni two weeks ago for six matches, three of them on probation (Queer.de reported). The 20-year-old clashed with Real Madrid ace Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League match in mid-February. During the exchange, he directed a homophobic insult at his opponent, calling him “maricón” (the slur for a gay man). He covered his mouth with his jersey as he uttered the remark.
The 20-year-old reportedly admitted the homophobic remark during investigations. He or Benfica have not publicly apologized for it to date. Instead, the club president defended the player.
UEFA pressed for the ban to be applied worldwide
The FIFA formed, as expected, with UEFA’s request to apply the six-match ban across all competitions worldwide, including the World Cup. “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to apply the UEFA-imposed six-match ban worldwide,” the federation announced.
Whether Prestianni will be included in Argentina’s World Cup squad by head coach Lionel Scaloni remains open. The 20-year-old has so far appeared only once for the Albiceleste in a friendly in November. He did not feature in the March 31 World Cup warm-up match against Zambia. If he is not selected for the World Cup, he will serve the remainder of his ban in a UEFA competition next season.
Defending champions Argentina begin the tournament on June 17 in Kansas City against Algeria and then face Austria in Arlington five days later. Jordan, a World Cup debutant, completes the group.
Rule change after Prestianni incident
Following the incident, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) last week approved FIFA’s proposed rule change. Under the new rule, covering the mouth during insults can now be treated as a send-off (red card). (Queer.de reported).
