Gianni Infantino calls for red cards for players who cover mouths during on-field confrontations

Gianni Infantino has suggested that players who cover their mouths while speaking to opponents during confrontations should face immediate dismissal, arguing there should be a presumption of wrongdoing in such situations, Sport360NG reports.

The FIFA president told Sky News that referees ought to assume a player has said “something they shouldn’t have” if they deliberately hide their mouth while addressing an opponent.

His comments come less than two weeks after Gianluca Prestianni, a winger for Benfica, was seen pulling his shirt over his mouth while speaking to Vinicius Jr during a UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid.

Prestianni has since been handed a provisional one-match suspension by UEFA over an alleged racist remark, an accusation he denies. The sanction remains in place pending the outcome of a full investigation by an ethics and disciplinary inspector, with the possibility of further punishment once proceedings conclude.

Infantino stressed that individual cases should be handled by the appropriate authorities but insisted the sport must adopt a firmer stance overall to introduce measures that would act as a deterrent.

The matter was raised at the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board (Ifab) in Wales over the weekend. Members agreed to begin consultations aimed at developing rules to prevent players from concealing their speech during heated exchanges.

“If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously,” Infantino said. “There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn’t have said, otherwise he wouldn’t have had to cover his mouth.

“If you do not have something to hide, you don’t hide your mouth when you say something.”

No formal agreement was reached at the meeting, but the issue could return to the agenda at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April. Any rule change approved there could be implemented in time for this summer’s World Cup.

FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said discussions would continue ahead of the Congress, describing it as an opportunity to consider potential measures before the tournament.

Meanwhile, Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the The Football Association and an Ifab board member, urged caution. He acknowledged the need for further consultation to avoid unintended consequences.

“You can see when a player is talking to an opponent, there are very few circumstances where they should need to cover their mouth when they are confronting them,” Bullingham said. “We need to look at everything and make sure if we were going to bring in a rule change or a penalty that we’re not going to create further problems.”

With consultations set to continue, football’s lawmakers now face the challenge of balancing stronger deterrents against ensuring any amendment to the laws of the game is clear, enforceable and fair.