Santiago Giménez's drastic response when questioned about his fight with Hincapié
Santiago Giménez preferred to take to the grave the details of that duel of words that cost him the expulsion of the Ecuadorian Piero Hincapié
When the entire football environment was waiting for the mystery to finally be revealed, Santiago Giménez decided to keep the lock. The Mexico national team forward refused to break a “court code” when questioned about the words that Ecuadorian Piero Hincapié addressed to him, which triggered a controversial expulsion in the last 2026 World Cup.
During a press conference with one of his sponsors, the AC Milan attacker was surprised by a direct question from a child, who wanted to know what happened in the final minutes of that rough match held at the Azteca Stadium.
“Bebote”'s response was blunt, appealing to the old school mystique of football:
"Everyone asks me the same thing, but I don't know if you're old enough to know what he told me. The reality is that among footballers we have codes and what happens on the field stays on the field. I know that maybe if I tell you here it's going to go viral and it would break a code, so I can't say it, sorry."
The controversial expulsion and the “Prestianni Law”
The incident in question occurred on June 30 in the stoppage minutes (90 5') of the direct elimination match between Mexico and Ecuador. After a harsh disagreement caused by the frustration of the result, the Ecuadorian defender – today an Arsenal star – confronted Giménez, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent the cameras from reading his lips.
However, the whistler did not hesitate to strictly apply the “Prestianni Law.” This new FIFA regulation severely penalizes footballers who use insults or unsportsmanlike expressions while trying to hide their gestures by covering their mouth, which caused Hincapié to see the red card immediately.
A complicated World Cup for Giménez
Santiago Giménez's discretion off the courts contrasts with how complex his performance was on them during the summer tournament. Under the management of Javier Aguirre, his participation was extremely limited, registering few minutes coming off the bench against rivals such as South Korea, the Czech Republic, England and the aforementioned Ecuador.
Despite taking this secret “to the grave,” the forward seeks to turn the page on the questions and focus completely on the start of his vacation season, before reporting to AC Milan to face a new campaign in Italy's Serie A.