Paraguay's Miguel Almiron made history Friday as first player sent off at World Cup for covering his mouth during confrontation. Violation of new rule. His dismissal occurred in Group D match against Turkiye,leaving Paraguay to defend with ten men second half. Still,Paraguay pulled off surprising 1-0 victory in San Francisco Bay Area,keeping World Cup hopes alive while knocking Turkiye out .
FIFA's controversial rule,backed by International Football Association Board in April, aims to curb discriminatory behavior on field. Sparked by incident involving Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni,accused of making slurs while covering mouth in Champions League match. Prestianni denied allegations but received six-match suspension for what UEFA called homophobic conduct .
Almiron's red card just before halftime overshadowed team's strong performance. He'll be missed in Paraguay's crucial final Group D match against Australia on June 22. After game,Almiron posted on Instagram celebrating win,avoiding mention of his ejection. He thanked teammates,saying, “I’m proud to be part of this squad.”
England defender Dan Burn,who played with Almiron at Newcastle, commented,suggesting players might struggle to adjust to new rules. “I’ve seen him do that a lot over the years,” Burn said. He noted that even though referees discussed rule before tournament,old habits die hard.
Paraguay's coach,Gustavo Alfaro, praised team's resilience,accepted rule's enforcement. He reassured Almiron after match,urging focus on victory not dismissal. “What happened brought out even more of your teammates’ fighting spirit,” Alfaro said. He's been trying to lift team morale after Paraguay's rough 4-1 loss to cohosts U.S . in opening match.
Almiron’s experience as seasoned player made incident sting more. “Those things can’t happen,” he said. Still,he stressed need for supporting Almiron,moving forward as team.
New mouth-covering rule allows exceptions,letting players cover mouths during casual chats with opponents . Alongside this,several other changes for tournament,like time limits for substitutions and five-second countdown for throw-ins,goal kicks. Players must also stay on sidelines for one minute after medical treatment.
Alfaro worried some of these rules might take away from game's essence. He suggested yellow card for Almiron would’ve been better response. “Let’s not become slaves to rulebook,” he warned,reflecting on balancing regulations with football's spirit…
