Miguel Almirón became the first player ever sent off for covering his mouth during a confrontation after the Prestianni Rule was applied for the first time in Friday’s Group D match between Paraguay and Türkiye.
For the first time at the World Cup, FIFA’s Prestianni Rule landed with a red card.
In Friday’s Group D match between Paraguay and Turkiye, Paraguay forward Miguel Almirón was shown a straight red in the first half after he covered his mouth during a confrontation. He became the first player in history to be sent off for doing so.
The incident happened in first-half stoppage time. Almirón and Mert Mulder exchanged words following a foul near midfield. As the confrontation escalated, Almirón covered his mouth while speaking to Mulder. Mulder immediately appealed to referee Ivan Barton, pushing for punishment.
Barton went to video review. He ruled quickly and sent Almirón off.
FIFA introduced the rule ahead of the World Cup to prevent discriminatory statements from going unpunished. The decision was created after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni covered his face with his jersey in a Champions League match in February. after which he reportedly made a racist remark to Real Madrid’s Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino explained the logic behind the new directive. saying: “If you have nothing to hide. you don’t cover your mouth when you say something. It’s as simple as that. If a player covers his mouth and says something that has a racist consequence. he obviously needs to be sent off. There must be a presumption that he said something he shouldn’t have.”.
With Almirón’s red card now recorded as the first enforcement of the rule at the tournament, the message is clear: covering your mouth in a heated exchange is no longer treated as background noise—it can be punished immediately.
Prestianni Rule Miguel Almirón Paraguay Turkiye Ivan Barton Mert Mulder World Cup red card FIFA