Gianluca Prestianni: Benfica, Argentina winger to miss World Cup games as FIFA impose worldwide ban after Vinicius Junior abuse

Gianluca Prestianni's six-game ban for discriminatory conduct towards Vinicius Junior has been extended worldwide by FIFA.

The disciplinary committee of football's world governing body have made the decision to extend Prestianni's ban imposed by UEFA, which initially applied to European competitions only.

Benfica winger Prestianni was first punished in April after he admitted using homophobic language towards Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during a Champions League fixture in February.

Vinicius had initially accused Prestianni of racially abusing him, but UEFA could not prove the racial insult which Prestianni denied.

The 20-year-old covered his mouth with his shirt before speaking to Vinicius, and IFAB - football’s rule-making panel - have since confirmed that such an act will be a red card offense at the World Cup, following a request from FIFA.

Prestianni would have faced a minimum 10-game ban from European competition if he had been found guilty of racist abuse.

Instead, Prestianni is banned for six matches, three of which are suspended for a two-year period, while one was already served as a provisional suspension in February.

Unless the winger triggers the suspended three-match ban, he will only be sidelined for two games in total.

Prestianni set to miss Argentina’s opening two World Cup games

Following FIFA’s decision to make Prestianni's ban worldwide, he will be forced to miss Argentina’s opening two World Cup matches at the 2026 tournament, if he is selected in Lionel Scaloni’s squad.

Argentina will begin the defence of their world title when they face Algeria in their opening Group J fixture on June 17, before taking on Austria five days later.

The South American giants, who beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, will conclude the group stage against Jordan on June 28, a game which Prestianni would be eligible for if selected in the national team squad.

Prestianni has only earned one senior international cap for Argentina, which came in a 2-0 friendly win over Angola in November 2025.

The winger also received a call-up by Scaloni during March’s international break, but he did not feature play in friendlies against Mauritania and Zambia.

At club level, Prestianni has played 39 times for Jose Mourinho's Benfica across all competitions this season, scoring three goals, providing five assists, receiving 12 yellow cards and one red card.