Jude Bellingham could have been sent off during England's World Cup draw with Ghana after appearing to cover his mouth while talking to an opponent, a new FIFA rule that has already resulted in a suspension for Paraguay's Miguel Almiron. The Real Madrid star was seen speaking to Ghana's Jordan Ayew with his hand over his mouth during the goalless clash at Boston Stadium on Tuesday night. Under a controversial rule approved at the FIFA Congress in April, covering your mouth to talk during a confrontational situation with an opponent or official is now against the rules.
New Rule Targets Hidden Conversations
The rule was introduced following an incident involving Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Junior, who was allegedly subjected to homophobic language by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League match in February. Prestianni covered his mouth while speaking to Vinicius and received a six-match ban after admitting the offence. Vinicius' allegation of racism was found not proven by UEFA's control, ethics and disciplinary body. The new rule aims to prevent players from hiding discriminatory or abusive language by covering their mouths.
Almiron Becomes First Player Sent Off
Paraguay winger Miguel Almiron became the first player to be sent off under the new rule when he covered his mouth while addressing Turkey's Mert Muldur during Paraguay's win last Friday. He was shown a straight red card and will serve a one-match suspension. Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro revealed after the game that Almiron had apologised to his teammates. "According to the law, if you cover your mouth, you're sent off. Red card. There's nothing I can do about that. Unfortunately, we can't issue a new opinion on this," Alfaro said. "He apologised to the players for his mistake. He knew about the situation he had left his team-mates in with his actions."
FIFA President Backs Rule
FIFA president Gianni Infantino expressed strong support for the rule earlier this week. "This thing about covering the mouth is for us a very, very important rule," he told SNTV. "It's about respect; it's about the example that we should give. If you have nothing to hide, you don't cover your mouth when you speak to somebody. The rules have been made very clear to everyone, everyone knows them, so this is an important element."
England Frustrated by Ghana Defence
England head coach Thomas Tuchel praised Ghana's defensive performance after the draw. "Credit to them. I rarely saw a physical performance like that from a team. They defended with 10 players in a deep, deep block, so made it difficult for us because they were very disciplined and very physical on every position," Tuchel said. "It is difficult to find a way through when someone plays a 4-5-1 and completely deep and is committed to it and they celebrated a 0-0 like a win, so you could see the different approaches which is fair enough and credit to them. You cannot lose your head about it." Tuchel noted that England created more chances as the game progressed but failed to score, with Harry Kane missing a big opportunity.
