When Lips Speak Louder Than Whistles: FIFA’s Bold Move to End Mouth-Silencing in Football

Context and FIFA’s Plan

The FIFA players’ committee member Mikaël Silvestre said on Wednesday that talks have begun about sanctioning players who cover their mouths to hide taunts from opponents. The objective is to curb a practice that often serves as a channel for insults that slip past cameras and lip-reading tech.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Silvestre said FIFA is seeking a legal framework to deter this behavior and to prevent it from becoming a pretext for racist or abusive remarks that go unnoticed by match footage or lip-reading devices.

“We must punish this kind of conduct,” he added. “It will take time because we need to coordinate with referees on what they can and cannot do, but everyone recognizes the scale of the issue and work is underway.”

The exchange comes after Vinícius Júnior accused Gianlucca Bristianni, a Benfica player, of directing a racist insult while hiding his mouth during Tuesday’s first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout stage. The debate has ignited a broader discussion about on-field behavior and accountability.

The Brazilian forward later scored the match’s only goal with a superb strike and celebrated in front of Benfica’s supporters, intensifying the controversy and signaling that this topic will continue to echo through European football in the weeks ahead.

Punchline 1: If silence is golden, FIFA has just minted a fortune—time to start selling soundproof headphones for fans and commentators alike.

Punchline 2: In football as in lip-reading, the most expressive language is still the stadium roar; the lips may lie, but the crowd usually doesn’t.