Ecuador Player Piero Hincapié Receives Red Card for Covering Mouth During Mexico Match

Mexico City. Ecuador's Piero Hincapié was sent off the field in the process of being defeated by Mexico on Tuesday evening in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

He became the second player to receive a red card in the current World Cup for covering his mouth during an altercation with an opposing player.

In the injury time of the second half of the game, after his team was trailing 2-0 and certain to be eliminated from the World Cup, the 24-year-old Arsenal defender covered his mouth while speaking to Mexico's Santiago Giménez. Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić did not initially see the incident. However, after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) advised him to watch the incident on the monitor at the side of the field, referee Vinčić showed Hincapié a straight red card.

Previously, in the group stage match against Turkey, Paraguay winger Miguel Almirón also received a red card for violating the same rule, although his team won that match 1-0. Just last week, England midfielder Jude Bellingham covered his mouth while speaking to Ghana's Jordan Ayew, but he was not sent off the field.

Before the World Cup began, FIFA's Head of Referees Pierluigi Collina clarified that players would be allowed to cover their mouths during friendly conversations, but a new rule would apply if their mouths were covered during 'controversial or aggressive' conversations. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that makes football rules, decided to implement this new rule at its special meeting in Vancouver last April. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had previously supported such penalties, stating that referees should act based on the suspicion that players 'said things they shouldn't have said'.

The issue of players covering their mouths during conversations gained attention after a Champions League match last February. Benfica winger Gianluca Prestiani covered his mouth with his jersey while speaking to Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior. The Argentine player Prestiani was accused of racist abuse, which he denied, but was initially given a one-match ban.

Later, an investigation by the European Football Association (UEFA) found him guilty of homophobic behavior and imposed a 6-match ban, of which 3 matches were suspended.

According to FIFA's rules, the final decision to send off any player rests with the referee's discretion, who will consider the overall context of the game before issuing a red card.