Benfica midfielder banned for insulting Vinícius

NYON, Switzerland (AP):

UEFA handed Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni a six-game ban yesterday for verbally abusing Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League game earlier this season.

A UEFA statement said Prestianni’s comments were “discriminatory (i.e. homophobic) conduct.”

UEFA said three of those six games were on probation, and he has already served one game of a provisional punishment already. That means Prestianni will initially only need to serve out two more games of the suspension, which UEFA said could include appearances with Argentina at the World Cup if he were selected for the June tournament.

Argentina’s first two games are against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City and Austria five days later in Arlington.

The 20-year-old winger made his first and only appearance for Argentina in a friendly in November.

If he is not selected by Argentina for the World Cup in North America, he will serve his ban in UEFA club competitions.

The incident happened during a game in Lisbon in February.

The game was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the Brazil forward scored and celebrated by the Benfica corner flag, upsetting local fans and players. After being confronted by Prestianni, Vinícius accused the Argentine player of calling him a “monkey.”

Prestianni reportedly denied using the term “mono,” Spanish for “monkey,” but admitted to using a homophobic slur directed at Vinícius.