Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet the FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterPlayers who put their hands over their mouths during confrontations with opponents could be sent off in the future, according to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.The directive was discussed during the latest general meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), who met in Wales at the weekend to consider new measures that could be brought in ahead of this summers World Cup.The issue of players covering their mouths is in response to the incident in which Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr alleged that he was racially abused by Benficas Gianluca Prestianni, who concealed what he said by speaking behind his shirt, during the two sides Champions League play-off last month. Prestianni, who denies the allegations, was handed a provisional one-match ban as UEFA opened an investigation. You may like Will Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni be charged for alleged Vinicius Jr racist abuse? Six new VAR rules fans will love and hate as IFAB propose time-limits and more reviews Champions League decision made as Vinicius Jr's alleged abuser receives Real Madrid ban verdict Why IFAB is banning players from covering their mouthsIn the wake of this incident, footballs lawmakers have now confirmed that they intend to bring in the new regulation ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off in just over three months.Clearly there are circumstances we want to prevent, said Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the English Football Association and an IFAB board member in a press conference, as per the Athletic.We need to consult the game more broadly and work out where we would avoid any unforeseen circumstances. You can see when a player is talking to an opponent, there are very few circumstances where they should need to cover their mouth when they are confronting them.We need to look at everything and make sure if we were going to bring in a rule change or a penalty for that, that were not going to create further problems. Theres a process well go through but theres a desire to bring something in relatively quickly.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.A FIFA Congress is scheduled to take place in Vancouver on April 30, when the matter is set to be discussed further and the final sanction confirmed, with the lawmakers needing to decide if the offence will be punished by a yellow or red card and resolving which interactions are covered by the sanction, given players will often put their hands over their mouths when talking to team-mates or coaches.Infantino believes that match officials should work from a presumption that players have said something they shouldnt have when covering their mouths."If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously, the FIFA chief told Sky News."There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn't have said, otherwise he wouldn't have had to cover his mouth. If you do not have something to hide, you don't hide your mouth when you say something. That's it, as simple as that."In the wake of their Vinicius Jr incident, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois last week said he would welcome a ban on players covering their mouth, if it would help eradicate racism.With Prestianni, its complicated because it will always be one persons word against anothers, said the former Chelsea stopper. We are 100 per cent with Vinicius, who has suffered a lot from this (racist abuse), but with the mouth covered, you can never know absolutely, and Benfica are bound to defend their player. Its down to UEFA and the institutions to act.Joe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.
