If you stayed up to watch Turkiye face Paraguay, you witnessed an eventful and historic night of football that included a dramatic red card incident.

Paraguay took an early lead when Matías Galarza netted the fastest goal of the tournament so far, striking just 64 seconds after kickoff. Interestingly, this came on the same day Morocco also scored within 71 seconds in their match.

However, the match took another turn when Paraguay’s star midfielder Miguel Almiron was shown a straight red card for violating a newly introduced FIFA regulation.

The global football authority recently implemented what has become popularly known as the “Prestianni Law”, designed to penalise players for concealing their speech during confrontations in order to hide potential abusive language.

This rule was brought into effect after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni allegedly used a homophobic slur directed at Real Madrid’s Vinícius Jr. during a UEFA Champions League encounter. In response, FIFA moved to make the sport more transparent by forbidding players from covering their mouths when speaking during disputes.

Under this rule, any player who covers their mouth during an argument with officials or opponents can be handed a red card. This is precisely what happened during the late Friday fixture.

The incident was referred to VAR after Almiron appeared to say something to Turkish defender Merih Muldur while covering his mouth. Muldur quickly alerted the match officials, prompting a thorough video review.

After examining the footage, the referee decided to send off Paraguay’s number 10, marking the first-ever red card awarded under this new FIFA regulation — a historic moment for the sport.

The decision sparked widespread debate among fans and analysts, with many acknowledging that it represents a significant shift towards stricter enforcement of player conduct standards on the pitch.