WORLD NEWS: 2026 World Cup: Players covering their mouths during an altercation will receive a red card
Sources confirm that the following story has emerged from the international scene.
Any player covering his mouth during a verbal altercation with an opponent will be punished with a red card from next summer’s World Cup, Fifa decided on Tuesday April 28 in order to stem racist excesses. Following a meeting in Vancouver of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the guardian of football rules, Fifa clarified that this rule was part of two changes to the laws of the game which will be introduced during the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico, from June 11 to July 19. Read alsoWorld Cup 2026: 48 countries qualified for an XXL edition “Any player covering his mouth during a confrontation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card” and excluded from the field, wrote Fifa in a press release. Red card against players leaving the field This new rule follows the controversy sparked in February, when Benfica’s Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni was accused of having uttered racist insults while covering his mouth towards Brazilian star of Real Madrid Vinicius Jr during a Champions League match. Prestianni denied any racist remarks but received a six-match suspension, three of which were suspended. Read alsoWorld Cup 2026: download the complete World Cup calendar Another modification to the laws of the game, adopted on Tuesday, provides for a red card against players leaving the field to protest against an arbitration decision. This measure comes after the outcry during the African Cup of Nations final earlier this year, when Senegal players, coach Pape Thiaw and his staff left the field in Rabat after a penalty was awarded to Morocco in added time. Senegal then won the final after extra time but were stripped of their title by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), a shock decision contested before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. With AFP
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L'information internationale en direct and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.