This is one of the new rules being implemented in the ongoing football championship. If you cover your mouth and say something to your opponent, you automatically receive a red card. Paraguayan player Miguel Almirón was the first to experience this rule change in the tournament, against Turkey. However, his teammates managed to secure a 1-0 victory despite being a player down.

The so-called "Prestianni law," as this rule change is known, was created in response to a match between Benfica and Real Madrid in February. During the match, Benfica's Prestianni covered his mouth and said something towards Vinícius, who then complained to the referee about racist insults. Prestianni eventually received a six-game suspension, not for racism, but for homophobic insults, which he admitted to. In response, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved a FIFA proposal that any player who commits a similar offense would be automatically sent off, to avoid discussions about what was said and whether it warranted a red card. Almirón was the first to experience this.

“Hopefully, he knows the rules so he understands that he shouldn't do that. The referee and VAR deserve praise. Not everyone may agree with it, but those are the new rules, and you have to follow them,” said former striker Clinton Morrison for BBC. In the match against Turkey, Almirón covered his mouth as he walked past midfielder Müldür, who immediately alerted the referee, Barton. The referee reviewed the situation with the video assistant referee, and it quickly became clear. "The Paraguayan player number ten covered his mouth, red card!" the announcer declared at the stadium.

“We were talking about it in the studio. It blended in with the match between two emotional teams, and I liked it. He said it in good English, assertively, and it builds respect,” said former goalkeeper Zdeněk Zlámal, smiling in the ČT Sport studio. By the way, Almirón has now experienced this rule change for the second time in the championship. In the first match against the USA, referee Makkelie showed him a yellow card for simulation after reviewing the video, initially penalizing Ream.

However, it turned out that the referee made a mistake – while VAR can intervene in cases of mistaken identity when issuing a yellow card, it cannot investigate a different offense. In other words, it could only intervene if someone other than Ream committed a foul in that challenge. However, the referee acted correctly against Turkey. The Turks, however, failed to capitalize on their numerical advantage and surprisingly exited the championship after just two matches. In those two matches, they had a total of 62 shots, but did not score a single goal, which is a record. "We tried, but it didn't work out. We should have scored some goals, we could have won those matches. We are all sad, we are all crying," said midfielder Güler.

“I lived there for a year, so I can imagine what's going to happen. The fans there are extremely passionate, and maybe there won't be cars burning in the streets, but it won't be far from it. I think the coach won't be able to handle it, the criticism will be enormous,” commented Zlámal, who played for Turkish club Alanyaspor in the 2016/17 season. On the other hand, Paraguay will compete for second place against Australia in the next match.

iDNES.cz
Zakryl si ústa a šel ven. Nové pravidlo v akci. Sudí si to vychutnal, smál se Zlámal
Je to jedna z pravidlových novinek na probíhajícím fotbalovém šampionátu. Zakryjete si ústa a soupeři něco řeknete - automaticky dostáváte červenou kartu. Jako první tuhle úpravu na turnaji pocítil Paraguayec Miguel Almirón proti Turecku, jeho spoluhráči nicméně i v oslabení vybojovali výhru 1:0.