Did Paraguayans vandalize the profile of referee Iván Barton on Wikipedia?

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June 20, 2026June 20, 2026By Mario Vásquez
Did Paraguayans vandalize the profile of referee Iván Barton on Wikipedia?

During the night of Friday, June 19, the Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton He became the first member of the World Cup 2026 in applying the new “Prestianni Law”, also known as “Vinicius Law”after sending off Paraguayan Miguel Almirón in the last minute of the first half of the game against Türkiye, in California.

The one born in the city of Santa Ana, El Salvador, wrote his name in gold letters in the tournament by becoming the first to apply, in a World Cup, the newly established law, which officially debuted in this edition and whose main objective is to eradicate all verbal insults and unsportsmanlike conduct on the field.

Given this situation, Iván Barton’s decision in Santa Clara not only surprised the Paraguayan bench, but has also unleashed a intense debate international on the control of language and gestures on the field of play, since footballers usually cover up mouth with their hand to prevent the cameras from capturing what they say.

Therefore, a few minutes before the break, the Paraguayan Miguel Almirón approached the Turk Mert Müldür to say something to him, but he resorted to the classic gesture of covering his mouth with his hand. Given this, the Turkish footballers surrounded Iván Barton and demanded that he apply the regulations implemented in this World Cup. AND So he did it.

The Paraguayan annoyance against Barton

Faced with this scenario, the Paraguayan fans decided to vent their frustration by “vandalize” the article of Wikipedia of the Salvadoran referee Iván Arcides Barton Cisneros, of 35 yearswho has been an international referee since January 2018 and directs matches in the First Division of El Salvador and the Saudi Professional League.

In Barton’s profile on Wikipedia, which was the subject of vandalismthe Salvadoran was compared to a Oompa-Loompacharacter of short stature from the play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because Iván measures 1.69 meters. “The Salvadoran works in exchange for his favorite food: grains of cocoa“said one of the descriptions.

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“Iván Barton is a Jew Salvadoran, thief and firefighterso he charges bribes to whistle in favor of the highest bidder. For that reason, he just stole in the first half of a 2026 World Cup match between the Paraguay and Türkiye teams, where harmed to the Paraguayans and benefit to the Turks,” said another excerpt.

Because of this, Barton’s profile on Wikipedia was filled with comments antisemitesexpressions of prejudice, hostility, discrimination and hate speech directed against Salvadorans because of their religion, culture and ethnic identity, so the offensive publications had to be eliminated by the administrators of said encyclopedia.

“The worst referee in history”

“The Salvadoran Iván Barton is the worse arbiter of history and is known internationally for using the law in favor of Vinícius (Lloricius),” another Internet user added. However, the level of offensive modifications was such that the Wikipedia article was removed and replaced by a clean version authorized by the digital encyclopedia.

Faced with this situation of harassment, Barton received the support of journalists and accounts specialized in referee analysis after his historic decision at the 2026 World Cup, in which he expelled Paraguayan Miguel Almirón for covering his mouth while talking to a rival, and many agreed that he acted correctly when applying the new standard.

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