Jude Bellingham courted controversy during England’s 0-0 World Cup draw against Ghana and, at first glance, appeared fortunate to have avoided a red card.
The Three Lions midfielder was at the centre of a heated bust-up shortly before half-time and was accused of using foul language by Ghana’s incensed head coach Carlos Queiroz.
After the furore died down, Bellingham was pictured deep in conversation with Jordan Ayew, covering his mouth with his hand.
Earlier in the tournament, Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron became the first player to be dismissed for contravening a rule that was brought in place at the start of the competition.
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino was the brainchild of the new law which was instigated after Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was given a six-match ban by UEFA for homophobic conduct towards Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr during a Champions League game in February.
Given the punishment handed out to Almiron, many questioned why Bellingham wasn’t given his marching orders for committing what appeared to be a repeat offence.
Covering your mouth, however, isn’t enough in itself to earn a red card and context is vital.
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A player will only be sent off if they are obscuring their mouth when they are embroiled in a confrontation with another player.
Almiron fell foul of the new legislation after he became involved in a heated conversation during his side’s win against Turkey.
Bellingham’s tete-a-tete with Ayew, by contrast, was clearly more amicable and he thus avoided the wrath of the match officials.
The stalemate, meanwhile, was England’s fourth successive draw in second games at a major tournament going back to Euro 2020, with Bellingham dubbing it ‘second game fever’.
Although the reaction to the result has been tamer than in the past, Bellingham says it is impossible to hide from his critics.
‘I think you’ve got to roll with it,’ he said. ‘I think when we play well, like the other day, we got the credit we deserve.
‘We weren’t at our best, it’s normal there’s going to be a little bit of noise, and that’s completely fair and completely normal for us.
‘It’s just about cracking on, getting back to Kansas, recovering well, analysing what we did, and keep going the same way that we were going before, with the same mentality, with the same attitude, try to avoid it as much as we can.
‘But it’s mad now, even when you, when you don’t follow them, they pop up, so they follow you everywhere, but it’s fine.
‘We’ll take what we have to take, but I think the important thing is that we’re sure in our beliefs inside the camp, and that doesn’t change.’