Arsenal's Hincapie sent off for covering his mouth as Ecuador crash out of World Cup

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie was sent off during Ecuador’s round-of-32 defeat to Mexico at the World Cup after covering his mouth while speaking to striker Santiago Gimenez — making him the second player at the tournament to be dismissed for the offence.

The Ecuador centre-back was shown a red card following the confrontation with Gimenez, a ruling that contributed to Ecuador’s elimination from the competition.

FIFA introduced the rule to prevent players from hiding communications from lip-readers and officials, and Hincapie’s dismissal underlines how strictly referees are enforcing it at this tournament. His red card is the second of its kind at the World Cup, suggesting the regulation is catching players off guard despite pre-tournament warnings.

The sending-off will be a significant blow for Arsenal, who signed Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen. The 23-year-old now faces an automatic suspension that would carry over into future international fixtures, though it will not affect his club availability.

Ecuador’s exit ends their World Cup campaign at the last-32 stage, with Hincapie’s moment of indiscipline compounding what proved to be a damaging defeat against Mexico.