Paraguay player gets first ‘covering mouth’ red card, Canada-Qatar brawl, Morocco’s Hakimi to stand trial for rape and more

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway. With dozens of national teams competing in 16 cities across three countries for soccer’s ultimate prize, there should be no shortage of drama on and off the pitch.

Fans have already witnessed plenty of controversy around red cards, referees, ticket prices and visas. There was another dose of high drama on Thursday night, when tempers flared in a post-match brawl between players and staff following Canada’s 6-0 rout of Qatar in Group B.

Tensions appeared to be linked to a serious injury sustained by Canada’s Ismael Kone, who suffered a broken leg following a challenge by Qatar’s Assim Madibo early in the second half.

Madibo was handed a red card, leaving Qatar to play the remainder of the match with nine players following an earlier sending-off. The Qatari bench appeared unhappy with the decision to send the player off.

After the final whistle blew at the end of what had been a fiery, physical match throughout, the two team managers — Qatar’s Julen Lopetegui and Canada’s Jesse Marsch — appeared to have a heated exchange on the sideline.

Shortly after, the two teams came together in the middle of the field and started jostling and pushing each other in ugly scenes. Officials were forced to intervene.

In his post-match press conference, Marsch said that Madibo had apologized but he took issue with the reaction of the Qatar bench. «Everyone could hear the bones snap,» he said.

«I don’t understand a reaction from their entire bench to try to start a fight about it being a red card when a clear foul just happened that broke a player’s leg,» he said.

Asked about his exchange with Lopetegui, Marsch said: «I’m not spending one second — it’s not worth any of our time to discuss.»

Below, catch up on some of the other controversies of the quadrennial tournament, which runs through July 19.

Paraguay’s Almirón becomes the first player red-carded under FIFA’s new ‘covering mouth’ rule

A new FIFA disciplinary rule that hands out automatic red cards to players who cover their mouths during arguments claimed its first World Cup victim Friday night.

Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón was sent off in first-half stoppage time of his side’s match against Turkey after he covered his mouth while exchanging words with Turkey’s Mert Mulder, ESPN reported. The rule, pushed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino after a Champions League incident last year involving Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid’s Vinícius Jr., is meant to crack down on lip-reading insults.

Paraguay held on to win 1-0 with 10 men, eliminating Turkey from the tournament.

Morocco player to stand trial for rape

An appeals court in France has confirmed that Morocco and Paris St. Germain star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial for rape.

The defender faced preliminary charges of rape in March 2023 after he was accused of raping a 24-year-old woman at his home in a Paris suburb, AP reported.

A lawyer for the plaintiff said the court’s decision «brings my client a sense of relief and hope.»

«Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial, hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men’s football.»

Hakimi has claimed that his case would have been dismissed if he had not been famous. He posted on K following the ruling: «Justice looked me in the eyes and said to me: ‘If you weren’t famous, there never would have been a case.’

«I chose to remain silent for years. I thought that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made. Finally, I will be able to speak.»

Judge rejects appeal to allow Ghana player into Canada

A Canadian federal judge rejected Ghana’s appeal to allow midfielder Thomas Partey into the country while he awaits trial on rape charges, which meant he missed the team’s 1-0 opening match win against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.

Partey has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault involving multiple women in Britain, where he played for Arsenal from 2020 to 2025. He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer argued that Canada, as a World Cup host nation, had a «public interest» in allowing the «orderly participation of accredited national team athletes.»

Ghana has been practicing for the World Cup in Rhode Island. Partey will remain there and is eligible to play in Ghana’s next two matches, both in the United States: June 23 vs. England in Foxboro, Mass., and June 27 against Croatia in Philadelphia.

Canada also denied the entry of Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi, who was arrested in May for alleged spot-fixing, or manipulating the betting outcomes within a game. According to the Athletic, Wahi was arrested by French police on May 29 after suspicious betting patterns emerged during a match between his Ligue 1 team earlier that month.

Wahi has yet to be formally charged, and the investigation is ongoing.

Cape Verde goalie’s mother gets visa to watch her son

Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias, who goes by the nickname Vozinha, made seven saves in a stunning 0-0 draw against Spain on Monday in the West African island nation’s first-ever men’s World Cup appearance. However, he said his mother, Evora, couldn’t attend the match in Atlanta due to U.S. visa complications.

The 40-year-old broke down in tears on the pitch after the game, hugging his teammates.

«I cried because I grew up with my grandparents, and unfortunately they are not here — they died a few years before and they give everything for me, for my life,» Vozinha told reporters. «And also because my mom, she didn’t manage to be here because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage on time, and I would like her to be here.»

U.S. officials said on Wednesday that Evora’s visa fees have been waived and that travel arrangements are being made so she can see her son compete in Cape Verde’s next match against Uruguay on Sunday in Miami.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that he was moved by Vozinha’s story and worked with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to resolve her visa issues.

«No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history,» Jeffries said.

Aussie ref denies making ‘white power’ hand gesture

An Australian video assistant referee had to deny flashing a white nationalist symbol during the television broadcast of Sunday’s match between Germany and Curaçao.

When cameras cut to Shaun Evans at the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas, he formed a circle with his thumb and index finger while extending the rest of his fingers. The hand gesture, which looks like an upside-down «OK,» has been co-opted by white supremacist groups, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which designated it a hate symbol in 2019.

After a subsequent investigation, FIFA said it found «no evidence of breaches of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.»

Evans said in a statement it was an «involuntary twitch.»

Iran coach says team ordered to leave U.S. after match

Iran’s head coach said his team was ordered to board a plane to Mexico minutes after drawing 2-2 with New Zealand and that he believes his team is «the most oppressed in the World Cup.»

Iran’s tournament has been in upheaval since the war between Iran and the United States and Israel erupted on Feb. 28.

The team’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said they had expected to spend Monday night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after their opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone had to immediately board a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.

«They didn’t even give us time to recover,» Ghalenoei said through an interpreter during a press conference after the match. «After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.»

Prior to the tournament, the Iranian football federation ‌moved the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico amid uncertainty over U.S. visas during the Iran war, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico ​told Reuters.

The Department for Homeland Security told Yahoo that «the Iranian National Football Team agreed to these terms.»

Iran fans display flags to protest Tehran despite FIFA ban

The postgame attention of the match between Iran and New Zealand on June 15 has also focused on the politically charged atmosphere at the Los Angeles stadium.

Among those in the crowd were Iranian fans cheering on their team, while others signaled opposition, as they view the World Cup team as a proxy for the Iranian government. They protested by holding up prerevolutionary flags featuring the lion-and-sun emblem that were used before 1979 and are viewed as a symbol of protest against the current Iranian government.

Others showed opposition by cheering on New Zealand and booing their own side. Despite FIFA’s efforts to restrict flags and apparel it deems political or offensive, fans still passed through stadium security without any issues. Outside the stadium, several hundred waved anti-Iranian flags and signs or destroyed the current Iranian flag.

Opening match sees most red cards in 20 years

The 2026 World Cup stirred controversy in the tournament’s opening match between South Africa and Mexico in Mexico City, as three players were sent off after receiving red cards.

It was the most red cards handed out in a World Cup match since 2006, when a record four players were ejected in what became known as the Battle of Nuremberg between Portugal and the Netherlands.

At the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, only four red cards were issued in the entire tournament.

Somali referee denied entry into the U.S.

Omar Artan, a Somalian referee, was denied entry into the United States after being stopped upon arrival at Miami International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which determined that Artan was «inadmissible due to vetting concerns.»

According to Yahoo Sports, a U.S. official said Artan was not allowed in the country due to «association with suspected members of terror organizations.»

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries whose citizens are restricted from entering the United States as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Artan told the New York Times that he had «the right visa» and was «very, very disappointed. I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup,» he said.

FIFA blames empty seats on fans watching from the concourses

Despite record-high prices, World Cup tickets are in high demand. But not all matches have sold out.

During the tournament’s first week, viral images showed swaths of empty seats at a match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico, prompting FIFA to issue a statement saying that it was actually a near-sellout and that some fans were «standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match.»

«Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match,» FIFA said in its statement.

Swaths of empty seats were also reported in the matches between Switzerland and Qatar and between Japan and the Netherlands, during which the Athletic reported that volunteers had to step in to fill empty seats.

The organization said that it has sold more than 6 million tickets for the World Cup.

When they went on sale last fall, the cheapest tickets for group-stage games were priced at $140, up from $69 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

According to the Associated Press, tickets for the World Cup Final on July 19 in New Jersey were initially listed at up to $8,680. The prices were later raised to $10,990 and then to $32,970.

By contrast, the most expensive ticket for the 2022 final was about $1,600.