Bold claim: players who cover their mouths while addressing opponents should be sent off. That’s the stance Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, voiced to Sky News as he argued referees should assume the player has said something they shouldn’t have when the mouth is intentionally obscured.
The comment comes on the heels of a recent incident where Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni lifted his shirt to cover his mouth while speaking to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr during a Champions League match. Prestianni is currently facing a provisional one-match ban from UEFA over alleged racist language, though he denies the accusations. The ban remains pending a full ethics and disciplinary investigation, and further penalties could follow depending on the inquiry’s outcome.
Infantino emphasized that while individual cases should be handled by the appropriate authorities, football as a whole must act decisively to create a real deterrent. He suggested the sport should move toward rules or guidelines that reduce the chance of abuse going unpunished, particularly in confrontational moments.
This topic was on the agenda at the International Football Association Board (Ifab) annual general meeting in Wales. Parties agreed to explore measures to prevent players from concealing what they might be saying to opponents. Infantino stated that if a player covers their mouth and makes a racist remark, a red card should follow by necessity because the act implies harmful intent. “If you do not have something to hide, you don’t cover your mouth when you say something. That’s it, as simple as that,” he said.
While Ifab did not reach a final agreement during the weekend, there is a timetable to potentially finalize measures at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April, with the aim of implementing changes ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafström underscored the ongoing discussions, noting that rules could be established in time for the World Cup if consensus emerges. Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham also voiced the need for broader consultation to avoid unintended consequences, highlighting that very few situations warrant mouth-covering during confrontations and stressing the importance of ensuring any new rule or penalty won’t create new problems for the game.
Should this approach gain final traction, it could mark a significant shift in how on-field exchanges are regulated and how quickly disciplinary action is applied in sensitive, high-tension moments. Do you think these measures would deter verbal abuse effectively, or might they risk misinterpretation and unfair punishment? Share your thoughts in the comments.
