FIFA's new treatment on Miguel Almiron: straight red card for masking his face!
FIFA is cracking down on players who speak with face masks as part of its latest rules. In the Turkey vs Paraguay match, Paraguay's number 10 Miguel Almiron became the first player in history to be subject to this rule. The officials sent him off with a straight red card after a VAR review.
The incident that happened to Miguel Almiron during the thrilling match between Turkey and Paraguay in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying round has got the football world talking. Shortly after the start of the game, Paraguay's Matias Galarza scored the fastest goal in the World Cup tournament so far, and then there were more interesting moments.
According to FIFA's recently introduced "Prestiani Law", masking a face that provokes objectionable language is a serious offence. FIFA introduced the new rule after former Benfica player Gianluca Prestiani made homophobic comments against Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.
Under this new rule, a player who covers his face in a clash is likely to receive a straight red card. Similarly, he covered his face with a mask during a clash with Almiron and Meri Muldur in the match against Turkey. It was reviewed by VAR and the Paraguayan star was shown a straight red card, implementing this rule for the first time in football history.
The decision is being interpreted as a sign of a radical policy change in football. Do players do that anymore? Or how do our words get out? There was a situation to deal with. Although it was a big blow for the Paraguayan team, the incident was a historic example of FIFA's new treatment.