{"id":707680,"date":"2026-06-01T11:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/707680\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:35:10","slug":"which-football-rule-changes-will-be-implemented-during-the-world-cup-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/707680\/","title":{"rendered":"Which football rule changes will be implemented during the World Cup? | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published On 1 Jun 20261 Jun 2026<\/p>\n

A new set of laws will come into play during the World Cup, the international self-regulatory body for football has announced, weeks before the tournament starts on June 11.<\/p>\n

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) revealed on Sunday a number of changes to the laws of the game that will be applied from the 2026-2027 season onwards as well as at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IFAB approved a set of landmark changes to the Laws of the Game, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the first major tournament to use them,\u201d FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese amendments aim to tackle discrimination, cut time-wasting, enhance match tempo and improve both the player and fan experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the rule changes:<\/p>\n

Player covering their mouths during games<\/p>\n

Players who cover their mouths with their hands, arms or shirts in confrontational situations will receive a red card. However, players who cover their mouths while having friendly conversations with club teammates on opposing national teams, for example, will not be punished.<\/p>\n

The new rule comes into effect after Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making discriminatory slurs against Vinicius Jr with his mouth covered. Prestianni was given a six-game suspension by UEFA, and his ban was extended worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"SLThe rule change was enforced after Prestianni\u2019s racial outburst against Vinicius Jr, during which the Argentinian player covered his mouth with his shirt [File: Patricia De Melo Moreira\/AFP]Leaving field of play in protest<\/p>\n

Players who leave the field of play to protest against a referee\u2019s decision will be shown a red card. The rule will also apply to any team official who incites players to leave the field of play in protest.<\/p>\n

Teams that cause a match to be abandoned will now forfeit the match.<\/p>\n

The rule change was made after Senegal stormed off the field in protest at a penalty awarded against them in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco.<\/p>\n

Throw-in and goal-kick countdowns<\/p>\n

Referees will start a visual five-second countdown with a raised hand. For throw-ins, if the ball is not in play at the end of the countdown, a throw-in will be awarded to the opponents. If a goal kick is not taken at the end of the countdown, a corner kick will be awarded to the opponents.<\/p>\n

\"JunTeams whose goalkeepers waste time in a goal kick will concede a corner [File: Joe Camporeale\/Imagn Images via Reuters]Substitution protocol<\/p>\n

Players have 10 seconds to leave the field when the substitution board has been shown. They must leave the field at the nearest point on the boundary line.<\/p>\n

If the player being substituted does not leave the field of play within 10 seconds, the substitute may enter only at the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed after the restart and the referee gives them the signal.<\/p>\n

Exceptions will be made for player injuries and concerns related to safety and security.<\/p>\n

Off-field treatment<\/p>\n

An outfield player must leave the field of play for one minute after the restart if medical staff have entered the pitch to treat them.<\/p>\n

Exceptions are goalkeeper injuries, collisions between a goalkeeper and outfield player, collisions between teammates that need attention, severe injuries (such as concussions and other head injuries) or when the injured player is set to take a penalty.<\/p>\n

VAR protocol<\/p>\n

The protocol for the video assistant referee, or VAR, will be broadened.<\/p>\n

VAR was first used in FIFA competitions in 2017, and the Russia 2018 edition was the first World Cup to use the technology.<\/p>\n

Now, however, it will also be used to check when red cards are issued after a clearly incorrect second yellow card or when cards are issued in the case of mistaken identity.<\/p>\n

Incorrectly awarded corner kicks can also be subject to VAR intervention if the decision can be corrected immediately without delaying the restart.<\/p>\n

VAR can also intervene when a foul is committed before play restarts. For example, when an attacker fouls a defender before the ball is in play from a set piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cVAR will recommend an on-field review, following which, if the referee determines that an offence occurred before the ball was in play, the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken and the corner kick or free kick will be retaken,\u201d IFAB said.<\/p>\n

\"SoccerVAR technology will be more broadly used in the 2026 World Cup [File: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images via Reuters]Hydration breaks<\/p>\n

There will be a three-minute hydration break in each half in every match.<\/p>\n

The break will be taken around the halfway mark of each half (22nd minute).<\/p>\n

Referees have been given a bit of flexibility with the timing of the break. For example, if a player is injured and requires treatment in the 20th minute, the referee can signal the hydration break.<\/p>\n

Goalkeeper injuries<\/p>\n

If a goalkeeper is receiving treatment on the pitch, players from both teams will not be allowed to leave the field of play and have a \u201ctimeout\u201d with their respective coaches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published On 1 Jun 20261 Jun 2026 A new set of laws will come into play during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,527,44,561,457,82,1690,13010],"class_list":["post-707680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-football","tag-news","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}