FIFA President Gianni Infantino demands in the fight against racism Measures with a deterrent effect. The focus is on players who, when addressing their opponents Hand over mouth hold. “If a player covers his mouth and says something and it has racist consequences, then of course he has to be sent off,” Infantino said Sky-Interview after the meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Wales.
“It’s that simple”
“That’s something I don’t understand anyway: Why does a player have to cover his mouth when he says something to another player?” said Infantino. In such a case you have to assume that the player said something on the pitch that he shouldn’t have said. For Infantino the matter is clear: “If you have nothing to hide, you don’t cover your mouth when you speak. It’s that simple.”
Die IFAB was involved in the issue after it was published in Champions-League-Game between Real Madrid and Benfica Lisbon an alleged racism incident had occurred. Lisbon’s professional Gianluca Prestianni should the Brazilian Vinicius Junior referred to as a “monkey”. The Benfica professional denies this, saying he pulled his jersey over his mouth in the scene. The committee, which had already decided on far-reaching rule reforms at the weekend, is working in the background on measures for cases of this kind. Infantino announced that new regulations could already apply to the World Cup.