Paraguay forward Miguel Almiron has spoken publicly after becoming the first player at the World Cup to be sent off for covering his mouth during an on-field exchange.
The regulation was brought in in April before the tournament, with officials introducing it as part of efforts to tackle racism in the game.
The change followed an incident involving Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, who alleged he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni after the Argentine covered his mouth while speaking to him during a Champions League match.
Almiron became the first player sanctioned under the new rule during Paraguay’s 1-0 victory over Turkey on Friday night. There is no suggestion that he directed any racist language toward his opponent.
Writing in Spanish on social media on Saturday, the former Newcastle United winger praised his teammates, saying: “I want to thank the effort of my teammates today, leaving everything in every ball. Thank you, thank you, thank you — a pride to be part of this national team.”
Almiron shared the message alongside a photograph of Paraguay’s players celebrating their battling win.
Miguel Almiron was dismissed after covering his mouth during an exchange with an opposition player
Almiron (right) appeared to have his hand over his face as he clashed with Mert Muldur
Almiron addressed the incident on social media in Spanish next to a picture of his teammates
Players on both teams had clashed after one of Almiron’s teammates, Isidro Pitta, went down hurt.
Almiron then briefly held his hand over his face as he walked past Turkey’s Mert Muldur, who then immediately tried to get the attention of the referee.
The official, Ivan Barton, went over to his video monitor and after getting the help of a replay, showed Almiron a straight red.
Players across the world are often seen talking with their hand over their mouth, even when they aren’t arguing with opponents. Most of the time, they are trying to avoid their words being revealed by a lipreader.
The new rules are not trying to stop that, given how much of a habit it has become. Players are still allowed to cover their mouth in a friendly manner but not when they are arguing.
‘If it is a friendly conversation, they can continue to do it without any problem,’ FIFA referee chief Pierluigi Collina explained in June.
‘We respect that there are players who are friends and it is normal to chat before, during or after the match. When it is confrontational, it is a completely different story. Covering the mouth means you are doing something potentially very wrong.’
‘This is something you do on purpose. It is not something that a player can do instinctively.’
The 32-year-old Almiron looked stunned by the decision but seemed to realize the error he had made as teammates went over to console him.
It could well mean that Almiron’s World Cup is over. Paraguay are battling to reach the last-32 and the straight red card means he will be suspended for the team’s final group game against Australia next Thursday.
Trukey players rushed over to tell the officials that Almiron had covered his mouth
Almiron looked devastated after he saw the red card – it could end his World Cup tournament
Officials had discussed the rule change with every team ahead of the tournament starting and players had been warned that the move would result in an immediate red card.
The moment threatened to turn the game on its head. Paraguay, who needed to avoid defeat to keep their hopes of remaining in the tournament alive, had the perfect start to the game in the San Francisco Bay.
Matias Galarza had fired Paraguay into the lead with a superb low strike just two minutes into the game against Turkey.
But with one of their most experienced players sent off in added time in the first half, the team suddenly had a difficult job ahead of them. They held on to a 1-0 win, though, and now have a fighting chance of making it into the knockouts.
Paraguay were thrashed 4-1 by the United States in Los Angeles last Friday, their opening game of the tournament. Turkey, meanwhile, were beaten 2-0 by Australia and after Friday night’s loss, are out of the tournament.
