World Cup Commentator Banned for Rest of Tournament After Fiery Outburst

Rachel RaposasTue, June 23, 2026 at 7:37 PM UTC

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Jorge Chipi Vera, ABC TV commentator at the World Cup.Credit: Jorge Vera/Instagram -

Jorge Chipi Vera was banned from covering the remainder of the World Cup after he lost his composure during Paraguay's match against Turkey on June 19

Vera called FIFA officials "thieves" and accused them of "killing football" after a controversial red card decision ousted Paraguay's Miguel Almiron

"Questioning a rule or disagreeing with a refereeing decision never justifies losing control the way I did," Vera said in an apology on Monday, June 22

A World Cup commentator won't have credentials for the rest of the tournament after he lost his composure on air.

Jorge Chipi Vera, a commentator for ABC Cardinal and ABC TV, has been banned from covering the remainder of the World Cup after he launched into a fiery outburst on live TV, seemingly over a player's expulsion from the Paraguay-Turkey match on June 19.

In a confrontation during the game, Paraguay's Miguel Almiron was shown a red card after he covered his mouth in the verbal exchange, which was in violation of FIFA's new rule against doing so. Per ESPN, the rule was instated to prevent the concealment of homophobic, racist or otherwise discriminatory comments; if a player covers their mouth, there's no way to determine what was said during a confrontation.

Jorge Chipi Vera, an ABC TV commentator at the World Cup.Credit: Jorge Vera/Instagram

Upon Almiron's removal from the game, Vera grew frustrated and emotional while live on air, calling both the game's referee and FIFA president Gianni Infantino "thieves" and accused them of "killing football."

Late on Monday, June 22, Vera issued a lengthy apology for his outburst and confirmed he had been banned from covering the remainder of the tournament.

"During the broadcast of the match between Paraguay and Turkey, I had an outburst," he said in Spanish, per The Independentand Reuters. "In the midst of my frustration over the expulsion of a player from my country, and feeling that my national team was being harmed, I used offensive and unacceptable expressions against the referee, FIFA, and its authorities."

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"Questioning a rule or disagreeing with a refereeing decision never justifies losing control the way I did," he added.

Vera added that he is also barred from participating in any of his outlet's coverage of the World Cup, including "Inside the stadiums or outside them."

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FIFA did not immediately reply to PEOPLE's request for comment.

A source close to the matter told Reuters that FIFA's governing body determined Vera's behavior was "inconsistent with the standards of professionalism expected of accredited broadcast personnel," the outlet reported.

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Source: “AOL Sports”