Piero Hincapié second player sent off for covering mouth after Mexico v Ecuador | OneFootball

Piero Hincapié became the second player in history to be sent off for covering his mouth during an on-field exchange, dismissed late in Ecuador’s round of 32 tie with Mexico at the 2026 World Cup under a new rule that forbids players from covering their mouths during confrontations.

In the 95th minute, the Arsenal defender, who has 56 caps and three goals, placed his right hand over his lips while addressing Santiago Gimenez, who quickly alerted referee Slavko Vincic of Slovenia. He consulted VAR, then showed the red card, L'ÉEquipe reports.

Ecuador were down to 10 men for the closing moments of a match that finished 2-0, played in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The incident comes 10 days after the first case, when Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron was dismissed against Türkiye in the group stage.

The measure was introduced following controversy involving Gianluca Prestianni and Vinicius during Benfica v Real Madrid, which ended 0-1 in February.

Source: L'Équipe