England midfielder Jude Bellingham escaped a red card after covering his mouth while talking to Ghana's Jordan Ayew during Tuesday's 0-0 draw in Boston – a decision that appears at odds with a new World Cup rule that sent off Paraguay's Miguel Almiron just days earlier.
The law, introduced for the 2026 World Cup, states a player can be sent off if they hide their mouth when speaking to an opponent. Fifa president Gianni Infantino requested it after Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni received a six-match Uefa ban for homophobic conduct towards Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr during a Champions League game in February.
“Jude Bellingham avoided a red card for covering his mouth because his chat with Jordan Ayew was friendly, not confrontational.”
Almiron became the first player punished under the rule at the weekend, when the video assistant referee (VAR) advised a red card after he covered his mouth while talking to Turkey's Mert Muldur during a heated match. The game had just seen a melee break out between players after Turkey's Ismail Yuksek challenged Paraguay's Isidro Pitta.
So why was Bellingwood not shown a red card on a VAR review? The answer, according to Fifa, is context. Pierluigi Collina, Fifa's head of referees, was clear before the tournament: "Players can continue to cover their mouth with an arm and the shirt because they may chat with friends. It's normal to chat before, during or after the match."
"When the conversation is confrontational, covering the mouth means that you are doing something very wrong, potentially, and the sanction is the red card," Collina added. But crucially, there was no animosity between Bellingham and Ayew – it was merely two players chatting, and the game was not in a heated state at the time.
Infantino defended the rule on Tuesday, telling SNTV: "This thing about covering the mouth is for us a very, very important rule. It's about respect. It's about the example that we should give. If you have nothing to hide, you don't cover your mouth when you speak to somebody. The rules have been made very clear to everyone."
Still, questions remain about how reliably the law can be applied. There is the possibility that a player could use it to get an opponent sent off in a situation where no offence was intended. Almiron, for instance, did not appear to be acting aggressively, while Muldur immediately complained to the referee. Bellingham's escape suggests the line between a friendly chat and a confrontational one will be a fine one for officials to tread.