Jude Bellingham risked a red card under a controversial new rule at the World Cup during England's 0-0 draw with Ghana at Boston Stadium on Tuesday night10:07, 24 Jun 2026Updated 10:08, 24 Jun 2026Jude Bellingham could have been sent off during England’s World Cup draw with Ghana. Bellingham had cut a frustrated figure for large parts of the Three Lions' goalless draw with Carlos Queiroz’s side.‌But midway through the game, the Real Madrid star risked a red card under a controversial new rule at the World Cup. Pictures from the clash in Boston showed Bellingham talking to Ghana's Jordan Ayew with his hand over his mouth while they spoke.‌It's unclear what the nature of the conversation between the pair was, but covering your mouth to talk during a confrontational situation with an opponent or official is now against the rules. The new rule was approved at the FIFA Congress in April, following a proposal from FIFA in the wake of Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Junior being addressed by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni while the Argentinian’s mouth was covered during a Champions League match in February.‌Prestianni was given a six-match ban after admitting using homophobic language. Vinicius’ allegation of racism was found not proven by UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body (CEDB).While Paraguay winger Miguel Almiron will serve a one-match suspension after he became the first player to be sent off for covering his mouth while talking to an opponent. Almiron committed the offence when addressing Mert Muldur during his side’s win over Turkey last Friday and was shown a straight red card.‌JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook pageParaguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro revealed after the game that Almiron had issued an apology to his fellow players following the incident. He said: "According to the law, if you cover your mouth, you're sent off. Red card. There's nothing I can do about that. Unfortunately, we can't issue a new opinion on this.“He [Almiron] apologised to the players for his mistake. He knew about the situation he had left his team-mates in with his actions."‌Speaking earlier this week, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he supported the new rule. "This thing about covering the mouth is for us a very, very important rule," he told SNTV. "It's about respect; it's about the example that we should give."If you have nothing to hide, you don't cover your mouth when you speak to somebody. The rules have been made very clear to everyone, everyone knows them, so this is an important element."‌Speaking after the draw, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel said: "Credit to them. I rarely saw a physical performance like that from a team. They defended with 10 players in a deep, deep block, so made it difficult for us because they were very disciplined and very physical on every position so it took us a while to break this block down, to find this rhythm.“Everything was our responsibility to find rhythm. At the same time you need to be careful not to concede counter-attacks."We were pushing, pushing, pushing. We had a big chance with Harry [Kane] that he will never miss in this tournament again, so it is what it is.‌"It is difficult to find a way through when someone plays a 4-5-1 and completely deep and is committed to it and they celebrated a 0-0 like a win, so you could see the different approaches which is fair enough and credit to them. You cannot lose your head about it."It took us a while to find our rhythm in the second half. The substitutes helped and the fatigue set in and then we created more and more the longer the game went but we couldn't score."Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!Article continues belowJoin our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Content cannot be displayed without consent