FIFA has responded to the Vinícius Júnior–Gianluca Prestianni racism allegations by announcing plans to introduce measures ahead of the 2026 World Cup to prevent players from «covering their mouth when confronting opponents during matches.»
Benfica forward Prestianni is being investigated by UEFA following allegations that he racially abused Real Madrid‘s Vinícius during the first leg of the Champions League Play Off between the two teams in Lisbon earlier this month.
Prestianni, who denies the allegations, missed the second leg in Madrid after being suspended provisionally for one game by UEFA on prima facie evidence.
The investigation into the allegations against the 20-year-old Argentina international has been complicated by Prestianni covering his mouth with his shirt when communicating with Vinicius Junior.
But during the 140th Annual General Meeting of International Football Association Board (IFAB) — FIFA’s international football association board and rulemakers — a decision was taken to assess measures to be introduced in time for the World Cup this summer.
«You can see when a player is talking to an opponent, there are very few circumstances where they should need when they’re confronting them to cover their mouth,» Mark Bullingham, English FA CEO and IFAB member, said.
«But we need to look at everything and make sure if we were to bring the rules change or penalty for that, that we’re not going to create further problems.
«There’s a process that we’ll go through, but there is a desire to bring something relatively quickly.»
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Bullingham said that discussions will take place to ensure any new rule does not impact on a player’s right to be discreet when talking to a team-mate or coach during a game.
«I think there are a number of things to think about in that clearly there are circumstances we want to prevent,» he said.
«We need to consult with the game more broadly and work out where we could avoid any unforeseen circumstances.»
