Almirón’s mouth-covering clash yields Paraguay’s historic red card
Paraguay forward Miguel Almirón was sent off for covering his mouth during a confrontation in Paraguay’s World Cup group-stage win over Turkey, the first red card under the new IFAB rule banning mouth-covering in confrontations; he will miss Paraguay’s final Group D match versus Australia, with FIFA able to extend the suspension. The ruling followed a VAR review, and the rule change was prompted by an earlier incident involving Vinícius Júnior and Gianluca Prestianni, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny of player conduct during confrontations.