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Argentina's Otamendi, Ecuador's Caicedo get 2026 World Cup amnesty as FIFA tweaks rules
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- Argentina's Otamendi, Ecuador's Caicedo get 2026 World Cup amnesty as FIFA tweaks rules
Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi is cleared to play in Argentina's opening match of the World Cup against Algeria after FIFA's Bureau of the Council decided to amend one of the tournament's regulations.
Otamendi was sent off in Argentina's final match of World Cup qualification, a 1-0 loss to Ecuador in Guayaquil. That previously would have meant he be suspended for the next official match. Now, however, FIFA will clear the slate between World Cup qualification and the finals of the tournament as long as a red card wasn't earned for a more serious offense.
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"Single yellow cards and pending one- or two-match suspensions as a consequence of cautions in different matches in the preliminary competition, an indirect red card, or a direct red card for denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity or for serious foul play are not carried over to the final competition," the new regulation now reads. "Any other pending match suspensions imposed as a result of a red card in matches in the preliminary competition are carried over to the final competition."
Ecuador also had a player sent off in that match and will recoup star attacker Moises Caicedo for its World Cup opener against Ivory Coast in Philadelphia.
This ruling comes months after FIFA clarified that Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo would serve the final two matches of a three-game suspension he picked up in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland only after a one-year probation period.
The decision was made after the governing body for soccer in Argentina, the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, lobbied FIFA for a modification. It is in line with changes announced earlier this month to World Cup disciplinary rules with yellow cards wiped after the group stage and again after the quarterfinal stage.
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The veteran defender Otamendi was key for Argentina in its run to the 2022 World Cup title, playing every minute of the tournament. The presence of the 38-year-old will be a welcome one in the opening game with fellow center back Cristian 'Cuti' Romero in a race against time to get fit for the tournament after suffering an MCL tear with Tottenham Hotspur in April.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Argentina's Nicolas Otamendi cleared for World Cup after rule change
