“Expel them.” The FIFA president’s position on players covering their mouths during verbal altercations

FIFA President Gianni Infantino considered on Sunday that football players who cover their mouths during arguments should be expelled from the match, in his comment on an incident involving Benfica’s Argentine Portuguese player Gianluca Priestiani, who is accused of directing racist insults to Real Madrid’s Spanish international winger, Brazilian Vinicius Junior.

Infantino said in an interview with Sky Sports: “If a player covers his mouth and says something that has racist implications, then he should be sent off, of course. It should be assumed that he said something that should not have been said, otherwise he would not have needed to cover his mouth.”
The Italian-Swiss official added, “These are measures that we can and must take to show that we are taking our fight against racism seriously.”
The European Football Association (UEFA) had temporarily suspended Brestiani pending the end of the investigation into the incident that occurred during the qualifying round for the Champions League quarter-final between Benfica and Real Madrid on February 17 in Lisbon.
The match, which ended with a 1-0 victory for Real, was stopped for about ten minutes after Vinicius complained that he was described as a “monkey” by the Argentine player, accusations that the latter denied on his Instagram account, stressing that the Real player “unfortunately misinterpreted what he thought he heard.”
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho, who initially defended his player, confirmed on Sunday that if the facts were proven through the investigation, Pristiani would not play again under his supervision.
Infantino said: “Of course, as part of a disciplinary procedure, the situation must be analyzed and evidence collected, but we cannot be satisfied with that in the future.”
He added, “We must act decisively and in a deterrent manner. Perhaps we should think not only about sanctions, but also about changing our culture and giving players or anyone who commits a mistake an opportunity to apologise. A person may do things that he regrets under the influence of anger, and apologize, and then the punishment should be different. Perhaps we should study this option.”
Priestiani faces a penalty of up to 10 matches if convicted.
The issue was raised during the International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting on Saturday.
The next FIFA conference will be held next month in Vancouver, where the international football body could decide on measures to prevent players from covering their mouths in the next World Cup.