Jude Bellingham avoided a red card in England’s draw with Ghana despite appearing to break a new FIFA rule.
The midfielder endured a frustrating evening as the Three Lions were held to a goalless stalemate at the World Cup.
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Bellingham was at the centre of a flashpoint at half time as he clashed with members of the Ghana dugout.
Morgan Rogers had to hold back his teammate as he exchanged words with opposing manager Carlos Queiroz.
Bellingham avoids red
However, it was an interaction with Ghana forward Jordan Ayew which could have landed Bellingham in hot water with the officials.
The 22-year-old covered his mouth whilst speaking to the Leicester City man.
Under new rules introduced by FIFA for the World Cup, Bellingham risked a red card for the gesture.
Referees are now permitted to send players off for covering their mouth during a confrontational situation.
It comes after Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was handed a six-match ban by UEFA for admitting using homophobic language towards Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian accused Prestianni of racism during the confrontation but the Argentine never received sanctions for that.
The incident occurred during a Champions League clash with Real Madrid in February.
Officials have already implemented the rule during this summer’s tournament.
Paraguay midfielder Migual Almiron became the first player to receive a red card for breaching the rule.
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The former Newcastle United man was sent off against Turkey after a VAR review alerted the referee to his gesture.
Why was Bellingham not sent off?
Bellingham’s conversation with Ayew in which he covered his mouth did not appear to be confrontational.
As a result, it would not fall under the threshold for a red card.
Players are also still permitted to cover their mouths whilst talking to teammates during matches.
Explaining the new rule before the World Cup, FIFA referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina said: “If the conversation is friendly, they can continue to do it without any problem.
“When the conversation is confrontational, covering the mouth means that you are doing something very wrong, potentially, and the sanction is the red card.”
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A red card would have ruled Bellingham out of England’s Group L decider this weekend.
The Three Lions face Panama on Saturday, with kick-off at 10pm live on eSPORTY.
