🤦 No lessons from Vini Jr.: World Cup star off for hand over mouth!

Turkey and Paraguay faced off on Saturday morning in one of the most intense and fiery matches of this World Cup! After the South Americans took an early 1-0 lead, the game was mainly marked by time-wasting, fouls, and minor scuffles.

However, calling what Miguel Almirón did in first-half stoppage time a minor scuffle would be a massive understatement. During a break in play, the Paraguayan clashed with Turkey star Mert Müldür. With his hand over his mouth, Almirón had a few words for his opponent (presumably not very nice ones).

At that moment, the 32-year-old seemed to have completely forgotten the new FIFA rule banning players from communicating with a hand in front of their mouth. As a result, VAR stepped in and Almirón was shown a straight red card.

That makes the veteran the first player to be punished under the new set of rules. The reason for its introduction is clear: the measure is intended to prevent and make more transparent discriminatory behavior such as racist abuse.

With this, FIFA was responding in part to the Gianluca Prestianni case. During the Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid earlier this year, the Argentine is alleged to have racially abused Vinicius Junior while covering his mouth with his hand. Numerous Real stars said so afterward.

At the time, however, referee Clément Turpin did not have the necessary means to send Prestianni off. Now referees can act in scenes like this — as happened between Paraguay and Turkey.

But it did not help the Europeans: after the 1-0 defeat, Vincenzo Montella’s highly rated team has been eliminated early!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.