Otamendi and Caicedo will not serve their one-match bans despite red cards at the World Cup

Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi and Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo will not have to serve one-match bans at the World Cup despite being sent off in their team’s final qualifying match, FIFA announced on Friday.

The unprecedented decisions are part of an amnesty of most disciplinary sanctions arising from World Cup qualifiers, initiated by FIFA’s office – a panel made up of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the presidents of the six continental football bodies.

“Single yellow cards and pending suspensions of one or two matches… will not be carried over to the final competition,” FIFA said in a statement, adding that it wanted to ensure teams “can compete with their strongest possible squads on the biggest stage of men’s international football.”

It follows an earlier unprecedented disciplinary ruling by FIFA that ensured Cristiano Ronaldo will not miss a single World Cup match despite a red card for using his elbow to hit an Irish opponent during Portugal’s penultimate qualifying match in November.

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The remaining two games of Ronaldo’s three-match suspension were postponed with a trial period.

Otamendi and Caicedo both received red cards in Ecuador’s 1-0 win over Argentina in September. Otamendi was shown a straight red card for fouling an attacker who ran clear on goal, and Caicedo received a second yellow card for a hard tackle.

Their mandatory one-match ban would now have to be served in another competition after the World Cup.

Argentina opens the defense of its World Cup title against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City.

Ecuador opens against Ivory Coast in Philadelphia on June 14.

Published on May 8, 2026