World Cup star becomes first player sent off under new ‘Vinicius Law’

Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior was in action for Brazil on Sunday, and he scored in a 3-0 victory over Haiti. It’s been a strong World Cup so far for the 25-year-old, who’s scored twice in two matches for the Selecao.

However, it was not only because of his goal against Haiti that Vinicius’ name was in the headlines on Sunday morning. As per Diario AS, he was also mentioned after the first case of a player being sent off for covering their mouth whilst speaking to an opponent – a rule that was implemented by FIFA in the lead-up to the World Cup, known as the “Vinicius Law”.

The player in question was Miguel Almiron, who was shown a straight red card following a VAR check after it was found that he covered his mouth to speak to one of the Türkiye players in stoppage time at the end of the first half.

History of ‘Vinicius Law’

Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Almiron is the first player to be shown a red card under these circumstances since the law was introduced. Earlier this year, FIFA confirmed that measures would be taken to avoid a repeat of the situation that occurred between Vinicius and Gianluca Prestianni, who covered his word when speaking to the Real Madrid man during the Champions League tie against Benfica.

Vinicius accused Prestianni of hurling a racial insult in his direction, but given that the Argentine had covered his mouth, it was impossible to prove this. However, in the end he admitted to making an anti-gay insult, which landed him a six-match suspension.

In the end, Almiron’s red card did not cost Paraguay, as they held on to seal an impressive 1-0 victory over Türkiye – a result that has confirmed that Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler will be heading home after the group stages are over, with his nation failing to qualify from Group D after back-to-back defeats.