LAUSANNE.- The FIFA extended “at the international level” the suspension of six matches, three of them suspended for two years, imposed by the UEFA to the Argentine player of the Benfica, Gianluca Prestiannifor “homophobic” behavior, a spokesperson for the institution informed AFP this Wednesday.
The 20-year-old winger, sanctioned for having insulted the Brazilian of the real Madrid, Vinicius Jrcovering his mouth with his shirt, has already completed one of those matches by not competing in the second leg of the play-off of the European Champions League between the clubs.
With this decision by the FIFA disciplinary commission, requested by UEFA, Prestianni would miss the first two games of the season. World (June 11-July 19) if summoned by Argentina.
The player has only played four minutes with the world champion, in a friendly against Angola in November.
In the first leg of the Champions League play-off between Benfica and Real Madrid in February, Vinicius reported having been called a “monkey” by Prestianni.
The referee interrupted the match for ten minutes and days later the Argentine was provisionally suspended for the second leg.
Prestianni denied these accusations on his Instagram account, claiming that the Real Madrid player “unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he heard.”
According to the ESPN channel, the Argentine defended himself before UEFA by claiming to have uttered a homophobic insult in Spanish and not a racist insult.
No television agreement in Asia
35 days from World football, broadcasters from Asian countries, including China and Indiahave not yet signed an agreement with FIFA, an anomaly that is partly explained by the match schedules, which are unattractive due to the lag.
Although these two nations are not classified for the World Cup organized in USA, Canada and Mexico (June 11-July 19), interest in the tournament is high, especially among the Chinese.
According to FIFA, the country accounted for 49.8% of the total viewing hours on digital platforms and social networks worldwide during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
