New football laws strike as Almirón sent off

1 1 1 →1 0 →1 2 →0 7 →1 2 →2 1 →0 5 →1 0 →0 1 →1 1 →1 2 →2 3 →1 1 →4 3 →0 3 →1 1 →1 4 →2 1 →0 1 →3 1 →1 4 →1 6 →0 1 →0 2 →0 0 →1 3 →0 0 →1 - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- New World Cup laws get work out as Paraguay's Miguel Almirón sent off for covering mouth Sat 20 Jun 2026 at 3:03pm In the extraordinary World Cup clash between Paraguay and Türkiye, FIFA's new laws took centre stage. An incident late in the first half of the frenetic contest saw the players from both sides come together in the centre of the field. After the players separated, referee Iván Barton was called to the VAR monitor to check something that happened in the mild melee, after Mert Müldür wheeled away from the pack of players, furiously talking to the assistant referee. After reviewing the footage, Paraguay winger Miguel Almirón was shown a straight red card, flourished with real vigour by referee Barton. His crime? To cover his mouth in a confrontation at the end of the first half. That means he will miss Paraguay's next match against the Socceroos on Friday at 12:00pm (AEST). Under the new laws introduced by FIFA and IFAB, the game's laws body, that is a red card offence designed to counter racist or derogatory comments made by players in heated situations. This was the first time the law was applied in a competitive international. That is just one of a number of law changes rushed through to apply at this World Cup. "These amendments are aimed at combating discrimination, reducing time-wasting, improving the tempo of matches and enhancing the experience of players and fans," FIFA said in a statement. So what are these new rule changes? Don't cover your mouth Let's get stuck into the main one first. As Almirón found out to his cost, players may not cover their mouths during confrontations with opponents, and if one does so deliberately, he may be sent off. The change comes after several controversies in Europe, most notably an argument between Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni and Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid. In a February Champions League tie, the Real Madrid forward accused his Benfica opponent of making racist remarks towards him. Upon further investigation, nothing could be proven because Prestianni covered his mouth when making the alleged comments. It quickly became a case of believing one player's word over the other, with Benfica manager Jose Mourinho in particular backing his player to the hilt. Interestingly, Mourinho is now manager of Real, so that might be an interesting conversation he and Vinicius will have. The 5-second countdown If a referee believes a player or goalkeeper is taking too long to take a goal kick, they will begin a visible five-second countdown using their hand. If the ball has not been put back into play before the countdown expires, a corner kick will be awarded to the opposing team. The same procedure will apply to throw-ins, with the throw in reversed. A few other sports have rules like this, water polo springing to mind as one, and a number of teams have already fallen foul of this rule at the tournament throughout the first round of matches. The 10-second countdown Similar to the above, any player who is being substituted will have just 10 seconds to leave the field. If he fails to do so, the substitute must wait until the first stoppage in play occurring at least one minute later before entering. This actually happened in a pre-World Cup friendly between Iceland and Japan, when Kristian Hlynsson took too long to exit the field when being subbed for Isak Thorvaldsson. That tardiness meant that Thorvaldsson was not allowed on for at least a minute. And what do you reckon happened in that minute? Koki Ogawa scored to give Japan a 1-0 win and a harsh lesson was learned by the Icelandic players. "When we scored, I think Iceland were temporarily down one player," Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said. "Situations like that can happen during substitutions, or when a player is returning to the pitch after treatment. "Under the new rules, players won't necessarily be able to get back on the pitch as quickly as before. That's something we need to be mindful of. Whether it's during substitutions or in other moments, we need to avoid creating openings that give the opponent a chance." Leaving the field after treatment Anyone receiving treatment on the field must leave the pitch and can only return at least one minute after play has restarted. There are some exceptions to this though. If a goalkeeper is injured then he won't have to leave the field for obvious reasons. It also won't apply if the injury is a result of a foul where the opponent is either booked or sent off. VAR expanded Something that might not be overly welcomed by fans or players is an expanded remit of VAR. The Video Assistant Referee can now review clearly unjustified second yellow cards, cases of mistaken identity, wrongly awarded corners and attacking fouls before free kicks or corners that directly affect goals, penalties or disciplinary outcomes. Incredibly, Almirón was impacted by this earlier in the tournament when he was awarded a free kick in the first game against the USA. He went down on the edge of the penalty area but replays showed that he didn't actually get touched and it was a blatant dive. As a result, the referee overturned the decision and said he did so as a result of a case of mistaken identity — which was actually an incorrect application of the rule. It rather oddly, these extra checks do not apply if a goal kick is incorrectly awarded. Don't walk off in protest No more repeats of the farcical end to the Africa Cup of Nations and its embarrassing aftermath with this rule. Anyone who leaves the field in protest at a referee's decision may receive a red card, and team officials who encourage players to leave the field in protest against a referee's decision may also be sent off.