UEFA has announced the punishment of Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni for his actions towards Vinicius Junior during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 playoff against Real Madrid. Surprisingly, the punishment is not for using racist language towards the Brazilian star.
UEFA has been investigating the case for approximately two months. Prestianni was initially banned from playing in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu and given a one-match suspension pending the completion of the investigation, before the official decision was announced on Friday.
What happened between Prestianni and Vinicius?
After scoring the first goal for Real Madrid against Benfica, Vinicius Junior went to the corner flag and celebrated with a dance that provoked the fans at the Estádio da Luz.
A heated exchange then broke out between Vinicius and Prestianni, leading the Brazilian star to claim that the 20-year-old had directed racist insults at him, forcing the referee to halt the match.
Kylian Mbappé stated that he also heard these insults and demanded that Prestianni be banned from the Champions League and fined heavily.
For his part, the Argentine player insisted that he did not make the remarks and that Vinicius and those around him had misheard what happened, prompting UEFA to launch a full investigation into the incident.
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Prestianni punished for “homophobia”
UEFA announced a six-match ban for Prestianni due to what it termed “homophobic” behavior.
During the investigation, Prestianni denied directing any racist remarks at Vinicius, claiming the Real Madrid star misheard him. However, based on Aurelien Tchouaméni’s testimony, it was established that the Argentine player made a homophobic comment towards Vinicius, not a racist one, and that the Real Madrid star misheard what was said.
As a result of the punishment, the Argentine player will miss two additional matches (after serving a provisional one-match ban), while the remaining three matches are suspended for two years. UEFA has also requested that FIFA extend the ban internationally to all competitions.
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Prestiani escaped a severe punishment
UEFA faced difficulty in reaching the required threshold of proof to punish Prestianni for racism because the player was covering his mouth with his shirt, which cast doubt on the final punishment.
Two weeks after the incident, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed expelling players who cover their mouths when speaking to opponents during matches, and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) began studying measures to prevent players from concealing what they say.
Had the racist abuse charge been proven, Prestianni would have faced a minimum 10-match ban.
Even with the request to extend the ban internationally and exclude the player from the World Cup, analysts believe that Prestianni – who has only one international cap for Argentina – was not a strong contender for a place in the squad in the first place, meaning he has “escaped” with the lightest possible punishment, which will only affect European Championship qualifying matches with Benfica.
While Benfica defended their player, claiming there was a “smear campaign” against him, manager José Mourinho took a firm stance, stating that Prestianni’s career under his management would “be over” if the abuse was proven.
