Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie was the second player to be sent off at the 2026 World Cup for covering his mouth while arguing with an opponent during his side’s defeat by Mexico on Tuesday evening, Yankee Scores reports.
The Arsenal defender, 24, was covering his mouth as he talked to Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez in stoppage time at the end of the second half when his side was trailing 2-0 and heading out of the tournament.
Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic did not see the incident but showed Hincapie a red card after being advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to view the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Almiron’s Precedent
Paraguay winger Miguel Almiron also falls foul of world governing body Fifa’s new rule for this tournament, following Hincapie. He was sent off against Turkey in the group stages but his side held out to win 1-0.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham escaped a red card for covering his mouth while talking to Ghana’s Jordan Ayew last week.
Fifa’s head of referees, Pierluigi Collina, said before the tournament that players could cover their mouth if they were having “friendly conversations”, per BBC Sport.
The new law was designed for “confrontational” interactions, he said.
The introduction of the new rule was decided at a special meeting of the law-making International Football Association Board (Ifab) in Vancouver in April.
Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie on a permanent deal having spent last season on loan from Bayern Leverkusen.
The defender made 39 appearances in all competitions, becoming a key member of Mikel Arteta’s defensive unit.
