Gianluca Prestianni will serve a global ban that could rule the Benfica winger out of Argentina’s opening two matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.
The decision comes after FIFA accepted UEFA’s request for an extension Prestianni’s six game ban worldwide following his verbal abuse of Vincius Junior during a Champions League clash against Real Madrid in February.
Prestianni, 20, was punished by UEFA two weeks ago after Vincius claimed the Benfica winger directed a racial slur at him during a match. The Argentinian player denied making the racist remark and reportedly claimed he had used a homophobic slur instead.
UEFA eventually imposed a six-match ban with three probationary matches after it found that Prestianni had verbally abused the Brazilian striker while covering his mouth with his shirt during a substitution.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by UEFA on Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to have worldwide effect,” FIFA said in a statement.
The decision means Prestianni would miss Argentina’s first two games in the World Cup group stage if selected in Lionel Scaloni’s squad. Defending champions Argentina open their campaign against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City before taking on Austria five days later in Arlington, Texas. World Cup debutants Jordan are also in the group.
It remains unclear whether Prestianni is still part of Scaloni’s plans. The winger has only made one senior appearance for Argentina, in a friendly last November and was an unused substitute during Argentina’s World Cup win against Zambia on March 31.
Scaloni included Prestianni in Argentina’s March squad despite an ongoing UEFA investigation, explaining at the time that he needed attacking reinforcements with Paulo Dybala unavailable.
UEFA investigated allegations by Vincius and Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappo that Prestianni used the Spanish word for “monkey” while hiding his mouth behind a red Benfica shirt. UEFA said it could not conclusively prove the alleged racist slur, although Prestianni admitted he had used homophobic slurs.
The winger has already served his first match ban when UEFA ruled him out of Benfica’s Champions League play-off second leg against Real Madrid in February.
Last week, soccer lawmakers from the IFAB approved FIFA-backed changes that make it a red card offense for players to cover their mouths when insulting opponents during matches.
If Prestianni is not selected for Argentina’s World Cup squad, he will serve the remaining matches of his suspension in UEFA competitions next season.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
06 May 2026 21:33 IST
