Players who cover their mouths when confronting an opponent will be immediately sent off at this summer's World Cup, under new, tougher sanctions agreed by football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The rule change, proposed by Fifa, follows an incident in February when Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr reported racial abuse from Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, who covered his mouth during a Champions League match.
Vinicius was visibly upset and informed the referee, causing a 10-minute halt under Uefa regulations. Uefa later banned Prestianni for six matches for discriminatory conduct of a homophobic nature, though the racism allegation was not proven. Any similar incident at the World Cup will now result in a red card, per IFAB's unanimous decision.
Additionally, players who walk off the pitch in protest at refereeing decisions, and officials who incite such actions, will also face instant dismissal. A team causing a match to be abandoned will, in principle, forfeit the game. This follows chaos at the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, when Senegal's players left the field after a penalty was awarded to Morocco, delaying the match by 17 minutes.
