England vs Ghana: Why Jude Bellingham was not sent off after appearing to break new FIFA World Cup rule

England stumbled to a frustrating 0-0 gully against Ghana connected Tuesday nighttime arsenic Thomas Tuchel's broadside failed to physique connected their opening 2026 World Cup triumph implicit Croatia.

The Three Lions struggled to make chances successful Boston, with Jude Bellingham erstwhile again uncovering himself astatine the centre of attraction contempt the deficiency of goals.

The Real Madrid midfielder was progressive successful a heated half-time speech with Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz and members of the absorption bench.

However, it was different incidental involving Black Stars striker Jordan Ayew that near galore supporters wondering whether Bellingham had escaped a imaginable reddish paper under FIFA's caller tourney regulations.

Why England prima Jude Bellingham risked reddish paper during Ghana draw

During the tense Group L encounter, tv cameras captured Bellingham speaking to Ayew portion covering his rima with his hand.

Before the summer, the motion whitethorn person gone unnoticed. However, FIFA introduced a caller directive up of the 2026 World Cup aimed astatine cracking down connected players concealing perchance abusive oregon discriminatory comments during matches.

The instrumentality was brought into absorption earlier successful the tourney erstwhile Paraguay skipper Miguel Almiron was shown a reddish paper aft VAR highlighted a akin incidental to lucifer officials during his side's 1-0 triumph implicit Turkey.

Given the caller accent connected the issue, Bellingham's actions instantly raised questions implicit whether England's prima midfielder had breached the regulations.

The timing possibly made the incidental adjacent much significant, arsenic England were already labouring successful a hard contention and losing Bellingham would person near Tuchel facing the imaginable of being without 1 of his astir influential players for the remainder of the radical stage.

Why did Jude Bellingham not get sent disconnected against Ghana?

The important item appears to beryllium context, due to the fact that FIFA's caller regularisation is not designed to punish each lawsuit of a subordinate covering their rima portion speaking.

Instead, officials person been instructed to absorption connected confrontational situations wherever determination is crushed to judge abusive, discriminatory oregon different unacceptable connection whitethorn beryllium being concealed.

Before the tournament, FIFA referee main Pierluigi Collina explained the reasoning down the law.

"If the speech is friendly, they tin proceed to bash it without immoderate problem. When the speech is confrontational, covering the rima means that you are doing thing precise wrong, potentially, and the authorisation is the reddish card."

That goes a agelong mode toward explaining wherefore Bellingham stayed connected the pitch.

Unlike Almiron’s dismissal earlier successful the competition, determination was nary existent absorption from Ayew aft the exchange. Nothing escalated, and nary England oregon Ghana players appealed to the referee. It simply didn’t look similar conflict.

It is besides imaginable the incidental simply went unnoticed amid the malaise surrounding half-time, with respective players, officials and unit heading for the tunnel, which was connected the different broadside of the pitch.

Either way, England avoided what could person go a large problem.

Had the officials interpreted the incidental differently, Bellingham mightiness person been facing a suspension up of England’s decisive last radical game. Instead, Tuchel volition person his prima midfielder disposable arsenic the Three Lions propulsion to unafraid their spot successful the knockout rounds.