Prestianni could miss the World Cup with Argentina after ban | OneFootball

UEFA announced this Friday that Argentine player Gianluca Prestianni was suspended for six matches for “discriminatory conduct” against Vinicius in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs, a match that ended in a 1-0 win for Real Madrid over Benfica, but became widely known because of the scandal involving the former Vélez player. Given this punishment, the youngster could miss the World Cup with the Argentina national team.

Although the 20-year-old footballer has already served one match of the suspension (he was unable to play in the second leg, which ended with Los Blancos advancing), UEFA’s punishment could extend to matches with the national team.

The first thing to bear in mind is that, beyond the fact that the body governing European football stated in its report that the punishment includes “official UEFA club competition matches and/or representative national team matches for which he would otherwise be eligible,” the truth is that it has no jurisdiction over FIFA.

So why could this affect Prestianni ahead of the World Cup? UEFA asked FIFA to extend the suspension to national team matches as well, and it is very likely to grant the request, as established by the disciplinary code.

According to what this outlet was able to learn, once FIFA announces its decision—which would be unfavorable for Prestianni, who in April broke his silence, denied being racist and homophobic, and said he was “punished without evidence”—the player will have the chance to appeal and, if he suffers another setback, take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a body from which he could request provisional measures.

If events unfold as expected, the former Fortín player will miss the next two official international matches, since the suspension includes three-match ban and another three matches suspended, meaning he will not have to serve those immediately.

Since the friendlies before the World Cup against Honduras and Iceland cannot be counted toward a suspension of this magnitude, if he is included in Argentina’s 26-man World Cup squad, Prestianni would not be available for the matches against Algeria and Austria, which will be the team’s first two in Group J.

For that reason, it seems unlikely that coach Lionel Scaloni will take the risk of bringing a player who would miss a large part of the tournament’s opening stage and who, in addition, is still not a guaranteed name on the roster, as he was competing for a spot with Franco Mastantuono, among others.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.