It happened live, in front of thousands of listeners and with no filter whatsoever. On June 19, 2026, while Paraguay was beating Turkey 1-0 in World Cup Group D, Salvadoran referee Iván Barton sent off Miguel Almirón for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent — a straight sanction under the so-called “Prestianni Law”. It was too much for Jorge ‘Chipi’ Vera, commentator for ABC Cardinal (Paraguay): in seconds he went from commentator to accuser. “Thieves!”, he shouted at the referee and FIFA. “FIFA, you killed football”. “Infantino, you are responsible for this.” He also went after Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol. 🎙️🔥
Four days later, FIFA responded in the only way it could: by permanently revoking his accreditation for the entire tournament. No turning back. Vera publicly apologized on social media and sent a formal letter to the organization before receiving the sanction, but it was not enough. ABC Cardinal removed him from all World Cup coverage and called the measure “extreme and disproportionate” for a fault acknowledged immediately. The closest precedent is Diego Maradona’s in Brazil 2014, when he was expelled for criticizing FIFA. 😤
Paraguay won that match anyway, with ten players and thanks to a goal by Matías Galarza. But ‘Chipi’ Vera was left without a World Cup. All because of 90 seconds of an open microphone. 🇵🇾
