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The first player who saw the red card at the 2026 World Cup under FIFA’s new “mouth-covering” rule was Paraguay star Miguel Almiron during a 1-0 group-stage victory against Turkiye. Until now, the exact dialogue between Almiron and Turkish defender Mert Muldur during that controversial moment remained unknown.
“It was a foul, and we were talking about whether it was a foul or not, and I told the Turkish player that it wasn’t a foul,” Almiron revealed to VS Sports. “I told him in English, he understood me, but you could tell he was paying close attention. Credit to him too, because he wanted to take advantage of it, and in the end, it’s a rule where I still accept my mistake and all that.“
Almiron added that covering one’s mouth had long been a routine habit among players, but the implementation of the new law changed everything. Fortunately for Almiron and Paraguay, La Albirroja held on for the win and eventually advanced to the Round of 32, where they pulled off a dramatic victory over Germany.
That red card wasn’t Paraguay’s only brush with controversy at the 2026 tournament. Tensions boiled over following their Round of 16 elimination, culminating in a heated confrontation involving French star Kylian Mbappe and Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
Almiron’s comments on what the player said to the referee
Paraguay’s playmaker also shed light on Muldur’s post-match statements, pointing out that the defender capitalized on the technicality rather than claiming any offensive language was used.
“The player goes and makes a statement too, and in his statement he doesn’t say that I said anything to him, just that it was the gesture,“ Almiron noted regarding the Turkish full-back.
Despite his status as Paraguay’s focal point, Almiron struggled to find his top form in the tournament, completing just 73% of his passes and placing only three shots on target without finding the back of the net. With their World Cup campaign over, Paraguay now turn their focus to the 2028 Copa America.
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