'Must be sent off' - Bellingham escapes World Cup red card after banned gesture

Jude Bellingham escapes World Cup red card after banned gesture England’s second match at the 2026 World Cup ended in disappointment as they were held to a scoreless draw against Ghana. It was a far cry from the excitement of their opening 4-2 win over Croatia, with Thomas Tuchel’s side stifled by an opponent that was content to take a point from the game. However, the outcome could have been worse for the Three Lions. Eza Konsa’s challenge on Prince Adu in the second half might have resulted in a penalty on another day, while was also fortunate to avoid a red card for a banned gesture that has already seen one other player sent-off at the World Cup. What did Bellingham do? Bellingham cut a frustrated figure for much of this match, owing largely to his inability to make an impact on the game offensively. He operated in a packed area of the field and struggled to find space. Shortly before half-time, there was a major flash point in the match which saw players from both sides become irritate. As they were instructed off the field for the break by referee Saíd Martínez, there was a minor fracas in the middle of the park in which Bellingham was a major protagonist. He confronted Ghana striker Jordan Ayew and as he did so, spoke to the Leicester City attacker with his hand covering his mouth. Such a gesture has been made illegal by FIFA ahead of the World Cup, with Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron sent-off in their last against Turkey on Saturday for doing exactly the same thing. Heated scenes at half-time between Jude Bellingham and some of the Ghana coaching staff pic.twitter.com/l1aU4DlLnO — ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 23, 2026 Why did FIFA make the change? In a change to the laws confirmed in April, FIFA said: “At the discretion of the competition organiser, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card.” Following Amiron’s red card, it toughened its stance, stating on social media: “Following a special meeting of The IFAB held in April, a number of amendments were introduced to be implemented at the FIFA World Cup 2026. This included a red card for any player in the tournament seen covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent.” This came about in a bid to tackle discriminatory behaviour following a row between and Real Madrid in the Champions League in February. During that match, Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni and were involved in a heated argument in which the Brazilian claimed he had been racially abused by his opponent. Prestianni had been covering his mouth with his shirt, and denied the charge, instead claiming that he had directed a homophobic slur towards the Real Madrid player. While he was subsequently handed a six-match ban for his conduct – as opposed to a mandatory 10-game ban for racism – the incident threw into focus that no one could tell exactly what was said. As such, IFAB, football’s lawmakers, changed the laws to cope with such situations. Should Bellingham have been sent off? FIFA’s wording of the law suggests that it is up to the referee’s discretion what punishment is taken – if any – against a player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation. Crucially, it says a player “may be sanctioned with a red card” for the offence but does not indicate that such action is necessary. The waters, however, were muddied by its in which it said it would punish “any player in the tournament seen covering their mouth in a confrontational situation”. FIFA’s original stance suggests that the referee’s actions were adequate, but its later statement indicates otherwise. IFAB statement following the change of the law indicates that any player conducting themselves as Bellingham did “must be” sent off. The Englishman, therefore, got lucky.