Bellingham escapes red card as FIFA's mouth-covering rule makes World Cup debut

Jude Bellingham avoided becoming the second player sent off under FIFA’s new mouth-covering rule during England’s 0-0 World Cup draw with Ghana at Boston Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Real Madrid midfielder was photographed shielding his mouth while in conversation with Ghana forward Jordan Ayew midway through the match. Under a rule approved at the FIFA Congress in April, covering your mouth during a confrontational exchange with an opponent or official is now a straight red-card offence — meaning Bellingham could have been dismissed had a referee intervened.

The regulation was introduced in the wake of a Champions League incident in February, when Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni addressed Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Junior with his hand over his mouth. Prestianni subsequently received a six-match ban after admitting to using homophobic language; UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body found Vinicius’ accompanying allegation of racism not proven.

Paraguay winger Miguel Almiron became the first player to be sent off under the new rule last Friday, receiving a straight red card after covering his mouth while speaking to Turkey’s Mert Muldur during his side’s win. Almiron will serve a one-match suspension as a result. Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro confirmed the player had apologised to his teammates afterwards. “According to the law, if you cover your mouth, you’re sent off. Red card. There’s nothing I can do about that,” Alfaro said. “He apologised to the players for his mistake. He knew about the situation he had left his team-mates in with his actions.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has publicly backed the rule. “This thing about covering the mouth is for us a very, very important rule,” he said. “It’s about respect; it’s about the example that we should give. If you have nothing to hide, you don’t cover your mouth when you speak to somebody.”

Bellingham had been a frustrated presence throughout a difficult evening for England. Thomas Tuchel’s side were unable to break down a disciplined Ghana defensive block, with Tuchel crediting Carlos Queiroz’s team after the final whistle. “I rarely saw a physical performance like that from a team,” the England head coach said. “They defended with 10 players in a deep, deep block, so made it difficult for us because they were very disciplined and very physical on every position.”