Former Newcastle United winger Miguel Almiron made World Cup history on Friday, and it was all because of the absolute worst possible reason.
Almiron, playing during Paraguay’s second game of the tournament, was sent off in particular conditions and made WC history after becoming the first player shown a red card for covering his mouth during a confrontation with an opponent.
Friday’s match, pitting Paraguay against Turkey as part of the Group D matchups, took place in Santa Clara, California, with
Almiron leaving the pitch after a VAR review by referee Ivan Barton.
The incident came in first-half stoppage time after play stopped for a foul on Paraguay forward Isidro Pitta. Almiron appeared to speak to Turkey defender Mert Muldur while covering his mouth with his hand.
Muldur immediately alerted the officials and mimed the action Almiron had made, leading to the inevitable decision.
The rule was introduced in April after an IFAB change designed to address incidents involving players covering their mouths during confrontations. The Daily Mail reported there was no immediate suggestion that Almiron said anything racist.
FIFA referee chief Pierluigi Collina explained before the tournament that the rule does not apply to friendly conversations.
“When it is confrontational, it is a completely different story,” Collina said. “Covering the mouth means you are doing something potentially very wrong.”
For now, there is no report about what Almiron said, so we can’t assume it was anything abusive or offensive. It’s unknown if there’ll be any post-match review or further investigation of the sequence.
Almiron’s red card means he will miss Paraguay’s final group match against Australia, and FIFA could also extend the suspension.
With that, Almiron’s World Cup could already be over, depending on what Paraguay does in their final game of the group stage, as they are currently second, tied at three points with Australia and trailing group-leaders USA, who have all six points. Anything other than a win against the Aussies would send the South Americans packing.
