Miguel Almiron, the Paraguay midfielder, became the first-ever player to be shown a red card in the FIFA World Cup 2026 for covering his mouth during a confrontation with Turkey's Mert Mulder.
The incident occurred during stoppage time in the first half of the match between Paraguay and Turkey at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
Almiron was ejected under a new rule put in place specifically for the World Cup, which punishes players for covering their mouths during confrontations with opponents.
The rule was introduced to prevent potential racist comments from being hidden from view, following an incident involving Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in the UEFA Champions League.
Paraguay went on to win the match 1-0, with Matias Galarza scoring the tournament's fastest goal so far in just 64 seconds, assisted by Julio Enciso.
