World Cup players who cover their mouths during confrontations with opponents will face a red card as part of a new initiative aimed at combating racism, world governing body FIFA said on Tuesday.
In a statement following a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Vancouver, FIFA confirmed that the rule was one of two law changes that would be introduced at this year’s World Cup.
“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 said in a statement.
The new rule follows controversy earlier this year when Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was accused of racially abusing Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior during a Champions League game in February.
Prestianni was accused of calling Vinicius a “monkey” repeatedly while covering his mouth. While he denied the racial abuse, he was later banned for six matches for “homophobic conduct.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino voiced support for the law change last month, stating, “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. If you do not have something to hide, you don’t hide your mouth when you say something. That’s it, as simple as that.”
In a separate law change announced on Tuesday to be enforced at the World Cup, FIFA said that red cards would also be introduced for players leaving the field of play in protest at a referee’s decision.
“At the discretion of the competition organizer, the referee may sanction with a red card any player who leaves the field of play in protest at a referee’s decision,” FIFA said. “This new rule will also apply to any team official who incites players to leave the field of play.”
FIFA added that any team causing a game to be abandoned will forfeit the match. This move follows the uproar at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final, when Senegal’s players and staff walked off the pitch after Morocco was awarded a penalty. Although Senegal won the final in extra time, they were later stripped of the title by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
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The law changes were announced as delegates gathered in Vancouver ahead of Thursday’s FIFA Congress, the final gathering before the World Cup begins in Canada, Mexico, and the United States this June.
