The 2026 World Cup witnessed a historic sending-off incident after Paraguayan player Miguel Almiron became the first player in the tournament's history to be sent off for covering his mouth while speaking to an opposing player.

Almiron received a red card after approaching Turkish player Mert Müldür with his hand over his mouth just before the end of the first half, in an incident that sparked widespread controversy during the match.

The match was officiated by referee Ivan Barton, who made the decision to send Almiron off after receiving a signal from video assistant referee Khamis Al Marri, as per the new refereeing protocol applied in the tournament.

According to FIFA, this rule was officially implemented during the 2026 World Cup after being unanimously approved last April, with players being informed of it in advance.

The implementation of this rule followed the controversy stirred by the Prestiani incident, when Argentine player covered his mouth during a match between Benfica and Real Madrid and spoke to Vinicius Junior, who accused him of making a racist remark. However, the lack of evidence through lip-reading prevented the possibility of imposing a severe penalty in that incident.