Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón has earned the dubious distinction of being the first player sanctioned under FIFA’s newly implemented mouth-covering rule, receiving a straight red card during his team’s Group D match against Turkey on June 20, 2026.

The incident occurred in stoppage time of the first half. Almirón covered his mouth while engaged in a confrontation with an opponent, triggering a VAR review that ultimately led referee Danny Makkelie to show the red card.

A rule designed to catch what microphones can’t

The mouth-covering ban was approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in April 2026 during a meeting in Vancouver. The rule specifically targets discriminatory or inappropriate behavior that cameras and lip-readers would otherwise catch.

The enforcement mechanism relies heavily on VAR officials, who can flag the gesture in real time and prompt the on-field referee to act. In Almirón’s case, the system worked exactly as designed. The Paraguayan covered his mouth, VAR caught it, Makkelie pulled the red, and history was made in the least flattering way possible.

Two historic firsts, one tournament

The red card against Turkey wasn’t even Almirón’s first brush with FIFA’s new rulebook during this World Cup.

Earlier in the tournament, around June 12-13, Almirón became the first player sanctioned under updated mistaken-identity protocols. During a match, VAR intervened to correct a yellow card that had been incorrectly shown to a US player. The system identified the error and redirected the punishment to Almirón.

Referee Danny Makkelie was involved in both incidents.

The mistaken-identity rule update was part of the same wave of IFAB reforms approved in Vancouver. The updated protocol streamlines the process, allowing VAR to intervene immediately rather than leaving it to post-match review panels.

Technology as referee: the broader pattern

Paraguay now faces the practical consequences of losing Almirón to a red card suspension during the group stage. The mouth-covering red carries an automatic suspension of at least one match, though FIFA could extend that depending on what they determine was actually said.

The IFAB reforms approved in Vancouver included several other updates beyond the two that Almirón has stress-tested, but these two incidents have received outsized attention because they were the first real-world applications.