UEFA announced this Friday the sanction of Argentine attacker Gianluca Prestianni, a Benfica player, with a six-game suspension for discriminatory conduct. of a racist nature towards Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior during the Champions League playoff match played in Lisbon on February 25. The incident, which stopped the match for almost ten minutes, became one of the most controversial episodes of this edition of the European competition.
According to the statement from the UEFA Disciplinary, Control and Ethics Committee, three of the six suspension matches are suspended for a period of two years, and the Argentine has already served one match provisionally, which in practice means that Prestianni will only have to serve two more suspension matches if he does not reoffend.
The European body also sent a request to FIFA for the sanction to be extended beyond continental football, which could affect its participation with the Argentine National Team in the 2026 World Cup that starts in June.
The incident occurred after Vinícius scored a goal and celebrated next to the Benfica corner flag, which generated a reaction from the local public and several Portuguese players. The Brazilian accused Prestianni of calling him a “monkey” while covering his mouth with his shirt, causing the Real Madrid striker to leave the field for several minutes with the game at risk of being suspended. Real Madrid presented evidence to UEFA to support the complaint.
Prestianni’s version
The Argentine player always denied having made racist comments and stated in an interview with the Argentine radio station Telefé that what he said to Vinícius was actually a homophobic, non-racial insult.
“It was something I didn’t say and they punished me without evidence. I was never racist and I never will be,” said the 20-year-old young man, who also expressed his discomfort at the treatment of the case. “It hurt me to be treated for something I never did.”he added.
With the sanction confirmed by UEFA as homophobic behavior and the request to FIFA to extend the punishment, the Prestianni case could have consequences for his participation with Argentina in the 2026 World Cup.
The Albiceleste’s first two matches will be against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City and against Austria five days later in Arlington, matches that could be affected depending on whether FIFA decides to extend the sanction imposed by UEFA to the national team level.