ATLANTA (AP) — Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron has been given a one-match suspension after he was the first player to be sent off at the World Cup for covering his mouth.
FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that Almiron will miss Paraguay's final group game against Australia on Thursday. World soccer's governing body said the decision was not subject to appeal.
Almiron made history when he was issued a red card for covering his mouth during a confrontation with Turkey's Mert Mulder late in the first half of Paraguay's 1-0 win last Friday.
Under new rules, players are not allowed to cover their mouths to disguise what they are saying during confrontations, with infringements leading to an instant dismissal.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed for the legislation after a high-profile incident in a Champions League game between Real Madrid and Benfica last season.
Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior.
UEFA later issued Prestianni a six-game ban — three of which were deferred — for what it described as “discriminatory (i.e. homophobic) conduct.”
Soccer’s rulemaking panel, the International Football Association Board, agreed in April that players can be penalized with a red card if they cover their mouths when verbally confronting another player.
The rule is not mandatory within The Laws of the Game but gives competition organizers like FIFA the option to use it.
On Tuesday, Infantino said he supported the new rule.
“This thing about covering the mouth is for us a very, very important rule,” he told SNTV. "It’s about respect, it’s about the example that we should give.
“If you have nothing to hide, you don’t cover your mouth when you speak to somebody. The rules have been made very clear to everyone, everyone knows them, so this is an important element.”
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Paraguay's Miguel Almiron reacts after received a red card during the World Cup Group D soccer match against Turke in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Paraguay's Miguel Almiron reacts after he received a red card during the World Cup Group D soccer match against Turke in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Paraguay's Miguel Almiron reacts after he received a red card during the World Cup Group D soccer match against Turke in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A shooting at a library in Northern California left two people dead and an 18-year-old suspect under arrest, police said Tuesday.
Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said gunshots and screams could be heard on a 911 call Monday evening from the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. Chico, a city of about 100,000 people, is 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco and home to California State University, Chico.
The suspect fled out the back of the library as officers entered, but additional law enforcement personnel behind the building took the man into custody, Aldridge said during a news conference.
“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” Aldridge said.
A video from the scene shows police patrol cars surrounding the one-story, brick building and officers pointing their rifles at the building. Another video shows a man face down on the ground being handcuffed by a police officer who then picks him up and hands him to another officer who walks him away from the building.
The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.
A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.
Police later determined the suspect acted alone and identified him as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. He was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder. There was no indication he had any prior relationship with or connection to the victims, police said in a statement. Authorities have not released the victims' names.
Jeannie Lee Schroeder was on a city bus that stopped near the library when she noticed the large police presence. As officers carrying guns marched toward the street, the bus driver started driving away. Schroeder began recording video on her phone.
“And as we were driving, and I’m filming, I see a person in a light-colored shirt running toward the street, toward where the bus was at,” Schroeder said Tuesday. “And then there was an officer behind him, and another officer coming at the side of him, and that’s when they tackled him down. And then they apprehended him.”
A police department dispatcher and a jail representative said Tuesday they did not know if Sayer has a attorney. A search of Butte County court records did not show Sayer's name and a phone number could not be found for him. Sayer is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.
Police said the Butte County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.
All Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday, officials said.
In a Facebook post, the county offered its “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”
It wasn't the first act of violence at a U.S. library.
A man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a man in a library and another man in a convenience store in 2023. In 2020, a suspect was sent to a mental health facility after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a library security guard in Spring Valley, New York. A teenager who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting two public library employees in Clovis, New Mexico, in 2017 was also sentenced to life in prison.
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Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, also contributed.
Flowers are placed outside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library a day after a shooting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 in Chico, Calif. (Michael Weber/Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)
The inside of the Chico branch of the Butte County Library is seen a day after a shooting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 in Chico, Calif. (Michael Weber/Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)
A sign is posted outside of the Chico branch of the Butte County Library a day after a shooting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 in Chico, Calif. (Michael Weber/Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)
This undated booking photo provided by Butte County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, shows Bradley Scott Sayer. (Butte County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Law enforcement personnel block East First Avenue between Sherman Avenue and Sheridan Avenue following a shooting at the Chico Library, Monday, June 22, 2026 in Chico, Calif. (Michael Weber/The Chico Enterprise-Record via AP)
This image made from video provided by KRCR-TV shows Butte County Library, Chico branch, in Chico, Calif., Monday, June 22, 2026. (KRCR-TV via AP)
