The World Cup match between Paraguay and Turkey witnessed a historic and unprecedented refereeing incident when Salvadoran referee Iván Barton enforced the newly introduced “Prestianni Rule” to send off Jorge Almirón.
The origins of this rule date back to last season’s UEFA Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica. During that match, Gianluca Prestianni directed remarks at Vinicius Junior that were deemed racist, but he covered his mouth while speaking. Consequently, UEFA’s investigation could not conclusively prove what the Argentine player said. In response, FIFA enacted a strict new regulation for the 2026 World Cup: any player who covers their mouth during a confrontation with an opponent will receive a straight red card.
The primary objective of this rule is to eliminate racism and curb player-to-player verbal abuse on the pitch. However, it seems Almirón was not fully aware of the change, falling into the trap of FIFA’s new regulations for the second consecutive match.
In the final moments of the first half, Almirón covered his mouth while directing words at Turkish fullback Mert Müldür. The latter immediately appealed to the referee, demanding a red card for the Newcastle United star due to the clear rule violation. After reviewing the incident via VAR, referee Iván Barton showed a direct red card to Almirón, leaving Paraguay with ten men for the entire second half.
A Unique Turn of Events: This is not Almirón’s first brush with history in this tournament. In Paraguay’s opening match against the USA, he was involved in another rare incident when the referee applied the new “Mistaken Identity” protocol, which resulted in Almirón receiving a yellow card.
🟥قانون الفيفا الجديد يتسبب في طرد ألميرون أمام تركيا
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