Home / Sports / Mouth Covering Leads to Historic Red Card
Mouth Covering Leads to Historic Red Card
20 Jun
Summary
- Paraguay's Miguel Almirón received a red card for covering his mouth.
- The incident occurred during a World Cup game against Turkey.
- This action follows a new FIFA law against covering mouths during confrontations.
Paraguay's Miguel Almirón received the first-ever red card for talking with his mouth covered during a World Cup game against Turkey. The incident transpired in first-half added time on Friday, following a VAR review by referee Iván Arcides Barton Cisneros.
Play had stopped for a foul when Almirón, covering his mouth, appeared to speak to Turkey's Mert Mulder. Mulder alerted an official, leading to the review and Almirón's dismissal. This red card automatically disqualifies Almirón from Paraguay's upcoming group-stage match against Australia.
The new law, introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), targets players covering their mouths during confrontations, making it a red-card offense. This measure was a response to a prior incident involving Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni in February.
In that previous match, Vinicius Junior accused Prestianni of racial abuse. Prestianni, who denied racism but admitted to homophobic conduct, received a six-game ban. FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated that any player covering their mouth during a confrontation with racist implications must be sent off.
