On Tuesday night it was announced that the so-called ‘Vinicius law’ has been passed unanimously by IFAB, football’s governing body for officiating. The rule has come into force following the alleged racist abuse proffered to Vinicius Junior during the Champions League in February.
The Brazilian was allegedly racially abused by Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni during Real Madrid’s clash with Benfica in Lisbon this February. Prestianni was not punished on the pitch, but was given a temporary one-game ban for the second leg of the tie which Real Madrid ended up winning 3-1. UEFA struggled to find evidence of the accusations made by Vinicius, and corroborated by Kylian Mbappe, as Prestianni was covering his mouth when he made the comments.
It has been confirmed that a new rule will come into play that will see players covering their mouth during a confrontation with an opponent ‘may be sanctioned with a red card’. Following the drama of the AFCON final, another law has also come into force that will see players leaving the pitch in protest at refereeing decision punished with a red card too. The new laws will come into play during the 2026 World Cup this summer.
Prestianni did admit to UEFA that he had homophobically abused Vinicius, rather than racially. As such, he was handed a six-game ban, which will see him miss the majority of league phase for any European competition Benfica qualify for next season. The lack of evidence was a major issue for UEFA, and this should solve the problem.
UEFA also asked FIFA to get involved, and extend the ban to international competitions. If that was the case, then Prestianni would miss the World Cup with Argentina this summer, although he has not been in recent Argentina squads.
