Overview
- UEFA, which announced the verdict Friday, suspended Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for homophobic abuse of Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior.
- The punishment totals six matches with three on a two-year probation and it includes the earlier provisional game, leaving two to serve unless he reoffends.
- UEFA asked FIFA to extend the ban worldwide, which could rule the 20-year-old out of Argentina’s first two World Cup matches in June if he is selected.
- The incident occurred on February 17 in Lisbon and stopped play for about 10 minutes after Prestianni spoke while covering his mouth, a factor that complicated efforts to verify what was said.
- UEFA’s rules group racist and anti-gay insults under the same article with a baseline of at least 10 matches, and the case is feeding IFAB talks next week on penalizing players who cover their mouths during confrontations.