Almiron Receives First Red Card for Mouth-Covering at World Cup

Paraguay’s midfielder Miguel Almiron faced a novel situation at the World Cup when he became the first player to be shown a red card for covering his mouth during a game. The incident occurred in a Group D match against Turkey, as emotions ran high late in the first half on Friday night.

During stoppage time, Almiron and Turkey’s Mert Mulder exchanged heated words following a foul near midfield. Almiron covered his mouth while speaking to Mulder, prompting Mulder to appeal to the referee, Ivan Barton, for action. Barton referred to the pitch-side video review and swiftly decided to issue Almiron a red card, enforcing a new rule implemented for the World Cup.

“According to the law, if you cover your mouth, you’re sent off. Red card,” explained Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro. “There’s nothing I can do about that. Unfortunately, we can’t issue a new opinion on this.”

Despite the setback, Paraguay held onto their 1-0 lead and won the match even though they played with one less player for the entire second half. Coach Alfaro tried to lift Almiron’s spirits after the game, highlighting his absence as a catalyst for the team’s fighting spirit.

Alfaro shared, “He apologized to the players for his mistake. He understood the impact of his actions on his teammates.”

The new rule was particularly emphasized by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, following an incident in a Champions League game where Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni attempted to veil verbal insults towards Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior. Alfaro pointed out that while his team was aware of the rule, he felt its enforcement could be overly severe.

“I fear we are too strict and football loses its essence,” Alfaro commented. “In football, there’s frictions, fights, clashes.”

Almiron will now miss Paraguay’s final group stage match against Australia, where second place in Group D will be determined. Additionally, FIFA might extend his suspension into a knockout round match.

“I hope the penalty is he misses as few matches as possible,” Alfaro stated. “He was very sorry and heavily affected.”

This scenario marks Almiron’s second card under the new World Cup rules. Previously, in the opening match against the United States, a video review overturned a yellow card from Tim Ream and issued it to Almiron for diving.