The Atlanta United player will miss Paraguay's crucial third group-stage match against Australia later this week. Stu Forster / Getty ImagesJune 23, 2026 Updated 12:52 pm EDTParaguay’s Miguel Almirón has been given a one-match ban for covering his mouth in a situation of confrontation.The ban means he will miss Paraguay’s final group-stage game against Australia next week, which will decide whether or not the country progresses to the knockout rounds.FIFA has chosen not to lengthen Almirón’s ban — with all red cards at the World Cup automatically triggering a one-match suspension — meaning he will be able to attend the round of 32 match, should they qualify.“One-match suspension for a breach of article 14.1.b (unsporting behaviour towards an opponent or a person other than a match official) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” a FIFA statement said on Tuesday, adding that the decision cannot be appealed.Gustavo Alfaro’s Paraguay side are level on points with Australia heading into the tie but have a worse goal difference (-2 versus zero) than their Group D opponents.Almirón became the first player to be sent off for speaking with his mouth covered in instances of confrontation during his country’s 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday.The incident occurred in first-half added time with play stopped for a foul on his team-mate Isidro Pitta. Almirón appeared to say something to Turkey’s Mert Müldür while covering his mouth with his hand, and was sent off by referee Iván Barton following a VAR review.Almirón’s red card was the first of its kind after the body which sets the rules of the game — the International Football Association Board — changed its laws in April, following an incident involving Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior and Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni.In February’s Champions League match between the sides, Vinicius Jr alleged that Prestianni had racially abused him when the Argentine spoke to him while covering his mouth with his shirt.Prestianni denied racially abusing Vinicius Jr and was later given a six-game ban for homophobic conduct, three of which were suspended.Following the incident, FIFA president Gianni Infantino told Sky News: “If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously.”