Ecuador’s Hincapie red-carded for covering mouth before World Cup exit in Mexico

3 min readUpdated: Jul 1, 2026 09:55 AM IST

Piero Hincapie became the first player to be red-carded for covering his mouth in a World Cup knockout game. (AP Photo)

Ecuador left-back Piero Hincapie became the first player to be red-carded for covering his mouth in a FIFA World Cup knockout match, moments before his side crashed out of the tournament in a 0-2 defeat to Mexico in the Round of 32 match in Mexico City.

When Ecuador’s substitute Kency Paez was booked with a yellow card for a rash swipe in stoppage time, Hincapie was seen having a go at Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez with his mouth covered. After Gimenez appealed to the referee, a VAR decision deemed Hincapie to have violated the newly introduced rule at the World Cup.

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The new rule empowers referees to eject players who hide their mouths during run-ins with opponents. The International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) Law 12 stipulates a straight red card for players “using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or action(s)”. Referees rely on what they hear, their assistants and the video assistant referee’s (VAR) inputs, as well as players’ reactions and the context of the incident.

Hincapie doing whatever it takes not to play with that fraud, Caicedo…

Never seen a player more happy to get a red card 😭pic.twitter.com/801WB6C01w

— Red Cartel Era (@RedCartelHQ) July 1, 2026

During the World Cup group stages, Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron had become the first casualty of FIFA’s new rule when he was sent off by the referee during the Turkey vs Paraguay match for covering his mouth during a verbal exchange with a Turkish player.

With the new rule, the referee will have more discretion in trying to ascertain the nature of conversation between opposing players. Banter is not a problem, but if the official sees a player covering their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt in a confrontation, a send-off is prescribed.

Mexico continues record run

Meanwhile, co-hosts  Mexico continued their spotless run in the tournament, setting a Round of 16 date with the winner of the England-Congo DR match to be played later tonight.

Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez meant that the Mexicans were up by multiple goals in the first half of a World Cup match for the first time ever across 64 games. Their win streak has extended to four successive games, making them the first time in 36 years since Italy in 1990 to begin a World Cup with such a triumphant streak.

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Ecuador will be smarting from the abrupt end to the their tournament, given that they have been the second-most successful South American side through the qualifiers leading up to the showpiece quadrennial event this time. Mexico’s win also marked their first win over a South American side other than Colombia in the World Cup across 15 matches.