UEFA has suspended Sport Lisbon e Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni for six games for his anti-gay behavior towards Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior during a Champions League match.
The suspension includes one match that the Argentine Prestianni missed as part of his interim suspension following the match against Real Madrid on February 17th. The punishment includes a three-game suspension for two years.
With part of his suspension suspended, Prestiani will only have to miss two more games unless he commits another violation. ESPN I will report it.
Vinicius accused Prestiani of racial abuse during the match, and the referee suspended play for 10 minutes in the second half. Vinicius scored the only goal of the match in the 50th minute, sealing Real Madrid’s 1–0 victory, but was confronted by Prestianni, who was celebrating near the corner flag.
video The altercation shows Prestiani covering his mouth with his jersey as he speaks to Vinicius. The Brazilian player then warned referee François Rexter, who pointed at him and made a “crossed arms” gesture indicating an accusation of racist abuse. Play was then paused while the situation was addressed.
A source told ESPN’s Bruno Andrade that Prestiani used the anti-gay slur as an “m.”Recon” (It means “f****t” in Spanish, not “mono” which means “monkey”. Mr Vinicius later denied using anti-gay language in his social media statement, claiming he had “misunderstood what he thought he had heard”.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe has claimed to have heard Prestiani calling Vinicius a monkey five times. The Athletic.
Real Madrid player Aurélien Choameny said: “Vini said that Prestianni called him “Monkey”, but the Benfica player only called him “Maricon”.”
Article 14 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations states that any player who “offends the human dignity of an individual or group for any reason whatsoever, including colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation” will be suspended for at least 10 matches or for a specified period of time.
UEFA appointed an Ethics and Discipline Investigator after the match, which concluded that Prestianni’s actions were anti-gay rather than racist.
The governing body did not respond to inquiries from The Athletic He asked why Prestiani wasn’t given a 10-game suspension.
UEFA told ESPN it has asked the sport’s international governing body FIFA to extend the ban worldwide. If FIFA does so and part of the suspension is subsequently enforced, Prestianni could miss up to two games against Argentina during the World Cup in June.
According to The Athletic, Benfica were fined last month for racist abuse. fan during the same match.
Benfica released a statement on the club’s website outlining its “historic and unwavering commitment to upholding the values of equality, respect and inclusion,” adding that it believed Prestiani’s explanation of the defamation against Vinicius.
On February 28, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) confirmed plans to ban players from covering their mouths when speaking to opponents, as Prestiani did during the Benfica-Real Madrid match.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
