Argentina soccer star’s ban for gay slur could see him miss out on World Cup
UEFA has asked FIFA to "extend worldwide" Gianluca Prestianni's suspension for use of a gay slur, which could affect the winger's World Cup participation with Argentina. The post Argentina soccer star’s ban for gay slur could see him miss out on World Cup appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Soccer star Gianluca Prestianni has been found guilty of insulting opponent Vinicius Jr. with a gay slur during February’s UEFA Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid.
The incident in the first leg of the knockout phase play-off tie between Lisbon giants Benfica and 15-time European champions Real made global headlines, with Argentina international winger Prestianni facing accusations of racism after a heated exchange with Vinicius Jr.
However, it emerged via post-game interviews that Prestianni was claiming he had used homophobic language towards his Brazilian opponent, and not racist slurs.
Related
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Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says gay slurs should be treated as seriously as racial slurs as Benfica match looms.
The disciplinary body of the European soccer confederation confirmed it would investigate the matter and announced its verdict Friday.
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UEFA has handed Prestianni a six-game ban, although he has already served one of those following a provisional suspension for the second leg against Real.
Furthermore, three of the games are suspended for a two-year “probationary period.”
It means the 20-year-old must still sit out two games, which have to be in UEFA club competitions or “national-team official matches.”
Because Benfica were eliminated from the Champions League by Real, the most immediate games for Prestianni will be those with Argentina — and UEFA has stated that it has asked FIFA to “extend [the suspension] worldwide.”
That looks likely to impact the winger’s involvement with the FIFA World Cup holders at this summer’s tournament in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Prestianni has only won one senior cap to date, in the friendly against Angola last November, but is seen as a serious contender for World Cup selection. He was in the world champions’ squad for last month’s games against Mauritania and Zambia, although he didn’t play.
Lionel Scaloni’s team is in Group J and will face Algeria in Kansas City (June 16) before taking on Austria and Jordan, with both those games in Dallas (June 22 and 27).
While Argentina are due to play pre-tournament friendlies against Honduras and Iceland, the suspension would be served in competitive games, should FIFA accept UEFA’s request.
Competing national associations can take squads of up to 26 players to the World Cup, so Scaloni could choose to include Prestianni knowing he would potentially be available for the match against Jordan, and then any future games in the knockout phase.
UEFA ban less severe than in previous player discrimination cases
Whether Prestianni’s punishment fits the crime is already the subject of heated debate in world soccer.
There was a 10-minute delay in the Benfica-Real match on Feb. 17 due to referee Francois Letexier activating UEFA’s anti-racism protocol, in light of furious complaints from the visitors.
Prestianni was covering his mouth with his shirt while directing his comments towards Vinicius. Afterwards, both he and his club vehemently denied allegations of racism, and Real player Aurelien Tchouameni told Spanish reporters: “Vini told us the Prestianni guy called him a m*nkey [‘mono’ in Spanish], but the Benfica player was saying he only called him a m*ricon.”
Video clips appeared to support this, and subsequently, reports suggested that Prestianni would use the same defense in the disciplinary process.
Meanwhile, some commentators and social media users continued to argue over the severity of ‘m*ricon’ as a slur, and whether it should be considered equivalent to the English word ‘f**got’ when translated.
Before the second leg in Madrid, Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was asked about the issue of gay slurs on the field, and stated that such language is “just as bad” and “as serious” as racism, emphasizing that neither has any place in the sport.
In terms of Prestianni’s punishment of a six-game ban with three games suspended, the severity is less than that of other high-profile player-on-player discrimination cases assessed by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB).
In April 2021, Czechia international defender Ondrej Kudela was banned for 10 matches for racially abusing opponent Glen Kamara in a UEFA Europa League between Slavia Prague and Rangers.
Prestianni was facing the same length of ban when accused of racism, but with the CEDB determining that he used homophobic language instead, the punishment handed out is less severe.
Even then, one of Argentina’s major daily newspapers Clarin described the verdict as “harsh” in its headline Friday.
TyC Sports speculated that if FIFA agree to ban Prestianni for Argentina’s first two World Cup games, the winger would probably appeal his suspension, fearing that he would be left out of the squad altogether by Scaloni.
The paper’s report added: “In the case that he received another setback, he [Prestianni] could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), an organization from which he could request an injunction.”
All that remains to be seen. What can be said for certain is that the charge of a mouth-covering, discriminatory insult of an opponent has been found proven, and Prestianni’s defense that it was ‘only homophobic’ has still led to him being punished, although not as severely as if he had been found to be racist.
He must sit out the next two UEFA or FIFA games, for Benfica or Argentina respectively. Putting the World Cup selection question to one side, that does not seem a particularly ‘harsh’ punishment for homophobia.
Judging by the goalkeeper’s comments in February, Courtois will be surprised and disappointed that the outcome is not “as serious” as it should be.
A lot of sports fans, whether LGBTQ themselves or not, will feel the same way.
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The post Argentina soccer star’s ban for gay slur could see him miss out on World Cup appeared first on Outsports.
