Gianluca Prestianni will miss two World Cup fixtures if selected by Argentina, after Fifa on Wednesday confirmed a global extension of the ban imposed on the Benfica winger for racially abusing Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match. The Guardian reported the ruling, which transforms what had been a continental sanction into one with consequences for the summer tournament in the United States.
Uefa had already suspended Prestianni for six matches — three of them deferred on probation — following an incident in which the winger directed a racial insult at the Brazilian forward while covering his mouth with his shirt. Fifa's decision to extend the ban globally means any immediate games in Argentina colours would count against that suspended portion, ruling him out of two World Cup fixtures should he be named in the squad.
Prestianni has one senior Argentina cap to his name, earned in November, and is therefore on the periphery of the national set-up rather than a certain selection. The timing of the ruling, however, places the Argentina coaching staff in an uncomfortable position: any consideration of the winger must now be weighed against the knowledge that he would be unavailable for the opening stages of the tournament.
The incident itself has drawn sustained attention since it occurred. Vinícius Júnior has been a prominent and persistent voice on the subject of racism in European football, and cases involving abuse directed at him tend to carry a particular institutional weight. That Prestianni concealed the remark — using his shirt to shield his mouth — was noted by Uefa in its deliberations and will have informed Fifa's decision to act beyond the continental jurisdiction.
For Benfica, the situation is a damaging subplot to what has otherwise been a notable Champions League campaign. The club will hope the matter is now settled at the institutional level, though the reputational dimension is harder to resolve. Prestianni's immediate focus will be on completing his existing suspension in club football before the World Cup squads are named. Whether Argentina's selectors choose to include him regardless of the ban remains to be seen.