Gianluca Prestianni's racist slur suspension isn't staying in Europe. FIFA has accepted UEFA's request to extend the Benfica winger's six-game ban worldwide, meaning if he makes Argentina's final World Cup roster, he sits out the first two group-stage matches.
The ban stems from a February Champions League match in which Vinícius Júnior alleged Prestianni directed a racist slur at him. UEFA handed out six games. Prestianni denied the racist element, reportedly claiming he used a homophobic slur instead — a defense that presumably didn't move many people in the room when FIFA made this call.
What this actually means for Argentina
Argentina open on June 16 against Algeria, then face Austria and Jordan to close out the group. Prestianni misses the first two. So unless La Albiceleste struggle to get out of what looks like a very manageable group — and there's no reason to expect they will — this ban bites hardest if Scaloni actually had meaningful minutes planned for the 20-year-old.
That's the real question. Prestianni has one senior cap and was included in the March window squad, but he's far from a guaranteed starter. If he's squad depth, this suspension is inconvenient rather than crippling. If Scaloni had genuinely earmarked him as a contributor, the timing stings. Argentina's odds to progress from their group don't shift much either way — the depth in that squad makes one winger's availability a marginal factor at best.
The suspension only applies to UEFA competitions or competitive FIFA matches, which is why Prestianni can still feature in Benfica's final two league games and Argentina's friendly against Honduras on June 7. Small mercies.
The wider fallout
The incident has already left a mark beyond Prestianni's schedule. The International Football Association Board used this case as partial justification to approve a new rule allowing referees to issue red cards to players who cover their mouths during confrontations — effective from the 2026 World Cup. It's a direct response to the suspicion that players are obscuring what they're actually saying.
FIFA will officially confirm World Cup squads on June 2. If Prestianni doesn't make the cut, the suspension rolls over into UEFA competition next season — so Benfica's pre-season planning could factor this in too.
