Why Harry Kane wasn’t sent off for covering his mouth in World Cup semi-final

Argentina wanted Harry Kane to be sent off for covering his mouth during a conversation with the referee during the first half of England vs Argentina.

During a cagey first half that saw 19 fouls committed between the two teams, Kane was spotted covering his mouth while chatting to Ismail Elfath.

Leandro Paredes spotted this and demanded that the England captain be shown his marching orders. However, the rules explain why he wasn’t.

Why Harry Kane wasn’t sent off during England vs Argentina

New rules brought in by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup have seen players punished with a red card when covering their mouth to talk to an opponent.

Miguel Almiron was sent off for Paraguay when he did this during their group game against Turkey.

This rule doesn’t apply, however, when a player is in conversation with a referee.

Replays clearly showed the England captain discussing the recent foul with Elfath before Paredes and his teammates came over to try and get Kane sent off.

Harry Kane accused of being sarcastic to referees

While the 32-year-old was never going to be punished for the chat with the referee, he may not necessarily be in the good books anyway.

Former Premier League official Graham Scott admitted that Kane is often a handful for match referees due to his line of questioning, which sometimes leads to decisions going against him.

Speaking to The Athletic, he said: “Harry Kane in the referee’s ear as usual. He’s very bad at it though – he just asks sarcastic leading questions.

“It often has the opposite effect because the ref just gets fed up with him.”