Kyle Walker reveals why footballers speak behind their hands and bemoans the use of lip-readers, after Man City star's on-field spat with Neal Maupay was decoded by experts

Kyle Walker has revealed why footballers cover their mouth with their hand when they talk to team-mates or opposition players on the pitch. 

The gesture is frequently used during matches or after the final whistle, and became a prevalent trend in the game a number of years ago. 

The Premier League even went as far as issuing a statement stressing that they were 'powerless' to stop the players from doing so following complaints from fans and broadcasters in 2018. 

Most recently, Manchester United's Antony drew the ire of Jamie Carragher when he was involved in what looked like an in-depth discussion with team-mates Mason Mount and Andre Onana after the side's 4-0 defeat against Crystal Palace. 

The former Liverpool star called out the player for 'whispering behind (his) hand' when he had been 'absolutely awful'. 

But Walker has revealed why players feel the need to keep their discussions private as he illuminated listeners on his new podcast. 

'(It's) so the camera's can't see!' Walker said on BBC's You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker. 

'You might be swearing, or having a little bit of banter,' he added. 'You might have seen them on a night out the week before, and you're just having a bit of banter, but it is what it is. 

'In the world we live in now, everything - you've got lip-readers now, what is this world coming to?'

The 34-year-old was perhaps justifiably critical of the use of lip-readers to interpret what players are discussing with one another on the pitch, having been the subject of an investigation following a spat with Neal Maupay earlier in the 2023-24 season. 

The Manchester City captain and the Brentford forward were embroiled in an argument after Maupay is alleged to have 'whispered taunts about Walker's children' - shortly after it had been revealed that he had fathered a second child with Lauryn Goodman. 

At the time, Walker's wife Annie Kilner was also pregnant with the couple's fourth child, their son Rezon, who was born in April of this year. 

Walker was seen venting his frustrations to referee Jarred Gillett and fourth official Stuart Attwell, and forensic lip-readerJeremy Freeman told Mail Sport that Walker said that he was going to 'knock (Maupay) out', in response to the goading. 

The England international reportedly told Gillett that Maupay had 'spoke about (his) kids, not once, but twice', while the Frenchman had advocated for his innocence claiming that the allegations were 'a lie' and 'not fair'.