The Rules for showing red cards to players at the World Cup have recently been updated because of two controversies in international football this year.
Gianni Infantino, the President of world football organizing body FIFA, pushed for changes after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League game and Senegal’s team walked off the field to protest a referee’s decision in a heated and chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final.
Football’s rule making panel, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), has agreed that players can be penalized with a red card if they cover their mouths when verbally confronting another player.
The rule is not mandatory within The Laws of the Game but gives competition organizers like FIFA the option to use it.
It was unanimously approved by IFAB officials from FIFA and the four British football federations at a special meeting recently in Vancouver, Canada, ahead of the FIFA Congress.
FIFA’s proposal followed Vinícius, backed by Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé, accusing Prestianni of making a racially charged insult while raising his jersey to cover his mouth during the game in February.
Last week, UEFA handed Prestianni a six-game ban — three of the games deferred for a probationary period — for the verbal abuse, which it said was homophobic. UEFA could not prove the racial insult which Prestianni denied, though he admitted using a homophobic slur.
If Prestianni is selected for Argentina’s World Cup squad, he must sit out the defending champion’s first two matches in June, although the ban can be appealed.
“At the discretion of the competition organizer, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card,” IFAB said.
Source: Africa News – Africa News
