Red card for players covering their mouths in World Cup matches

Lead

World football's rule-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), has approved two new measures for the 2026 World Cup that allow referees to send off players who cover their mouths during confrontations with opponents or who leave the pitch without permission. The changes, announced after a special IFAB meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday, were confirmed by FIFA in a statement and reported by multiple news outlets, including Al Jazeera, Africa News, France 24, and RFI.

Coverage Comparison

All four outlets covering the story—Africa News, Al Jazeera, France 24, and RFI—reported the core facts: the new rules were announced by IFAB for the 2026 World Cup, and players can now be red-carded for covering their mouths in confrontational situations. Three of the four also noted that the rule is not mandatory but gives competition organisers the option to use it, with Al Jazeera and France 24 explicitly stating this. The outlets differed slightly in their emphasis: France 24's headline and lead focused on the rule as a means to combat racism, while Al Jazeera and RFI highlighted the broader context of two controversies that prompted the changes. All sources also reported the second rule regarding players leaving the pitch in protest, though Al Jazeera and RFI provided more detail on this.

Key Claims

Multiple sources confirmed that IFAB, which comprises FIFA and the four British football associations, met in Vancouver to approve the changes. The exact wording of the rule, as quoted by Africa News, Al Jazeera, and RFI, reads: "At the discretion of the competition organiser, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card." FIFA confirmed it would implement the rule at the 2026 World Cup, which starts on 11 June, according to RFI.

The new rules stem from two high-profile incidents earlier this year. The first involved Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, who was accused by Real Madrid's Vinícius Junior of making a racially charged insult while covering his mouth during a Champions League match in February, as reported by Africa News and Al Jazeera. Prestianni denied the racial insult but was handed a six-game ban by UEFA, with three games suspended, for verbal abuse that UEFA determined to be homophobic, according to Africa News and RFI. The second incident was Senegal's team walking off the pitch in protest during the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, after a penalty was awarded to Morocco, as reported by Al Jazeera and France 24.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino voiced support for the changes, with France 24 quoting him as saying, "If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously. There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn't have said, otherwise he wouldn't have had to cover his mouth." This quote was not included in reports from Africa News, Al Jazeera, or RFI, and its wider attribution remains unverified beyond France 24's report.

Perspectives

The new rules have been presented by FIFA and IFAB as proactive measures to combat racism and maintain respect on the pitch. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino's comments, as reported by France 24, suggest a zero-tolerance approach to concealed verbal abuse. However, the rules also raise questions about enforcement and interpretation, as they rely on referee discretion. The optional nature of the rules means that not all competitions will adopt them, and their implementation at the World Cup will be closely watched. For the Senegal case, the team's protest walk-off was later stripped of their AFCON title by an appeals panel, a decision now under review at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as noted by Al Jazeera. The rules have been met with mixed reactions from the football community, with some praising the crackdown on racism and others expressing concerns about the potential for misuse, though these perspectives have not been extensively covered in the available reports.