AAP Soccer

Prestianni ban for homophobic conduct aimed at Vini Jnr

By AAP Newswire

Apr 25, 2026

European soccer chiefs have handed Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni a six-game ban for discriminatory conduct that was deemed homophobic aimed at Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in a Champions League game earlier this season.

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A UEFA statement on Friday said Prestianni's comments were "discriminatory (i.e. homophobic) conduct."

UEFA said three of those six games were on probation, and Argentine Prestianni 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 incident happened during a game in Lisbon between Benfica and Real Madrid 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, Vinicius 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 Vinicius.