"These amendments aim to tackle discrimination, cut time-wasting, enhance match tempo and improve both the player and fan experience." Those are the words of FIFA's Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina — and when you look at the package IFAB has approved, he's not overstating it. The 2026 World Cup, kicking off June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada, will be the first major tournament to run under these new laws.
Some are long overdue. Others will take some getting used to. Here's what's actually changing.
The rules targeting discrimination and time-wasting
The most eye-catching addition: covering your mouth in a confrontational situation now earns a straight red card. This came directly from the Benfica-Vinicius Jr incident, where Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making discriminatory slurs behind his hand — a six-game UEFA ban that was extended worldwide. IFAB clearly decided a suspension after the fact wasn't enough of a deterrent. Worth noting: players covering their mouths during friendly chats with opponents from their own club won't be punished. The rule is specifically for confrontational moments, and referees will have to judge the context.
Players who leave the field in protest at a refereeing decision get a red card. Team officials who incite that walkout face the same consequence. And a team that causes a match to be abandoned will forfeit it outright. Again, there's a clear real-world trigger here — Senegal walking off during the AFCON final before eventually returning to beat Morocco 1-0. That kind of chaos won't fly anymore.
Then there's the throw-in and goal-kick countdown. Referees will raise a hand and count down five seconds visibly. Miss the deadline on a throw-in? Ball goes to the opponents. Fail to take a goal-kick in time? The other team gets a corner. This one will shake up how defenses manage possession in their own half — and it makes set-piece markets a touch more unpredictable early in the tournament while teams adjust.
Substitutions, treatment, and VAR — all tightened up
Slow substitutions have been a persistent irritant, and IFAB has had enough. Once the board goes up, the outgoing player has 10 seconds to reach the nearest boundary line and exit. Dawdle past that, and the incoming substitute can't enter until the first stoppage after a full minute has elapsed following the restart. That's a real deterrent for a player trying to bleed clock.
Outfield players who receive on-pitch treatment from medical staff must leave the field for one minute after the restart — with exceptions for severe injuries like concussions, goalkeeper collisions, or a player about to take a penalty. It's a clean rule that stops the revolving door of players suddenly needing treatment every time the ball goes out.
- VAR can now intervene for a clearly incorrect yellow card that should have been a red.
- Mistaken identity — wrong player carded — is now a VAR reviewable incident.
- Incorrectly awarded corner kicks can be corrected immediately if the restart hasn't happened.
- Fouls committed before a set-piece restart are now within VAR's scope — if an attacker fouls a defender before the ball is in play, the kick gets retaken and appropriate discipline follows.
Collina framed the VAR updates as a mature reassessment: "We started using VAR in FIFA competitions in 2017... so, we think it is the time to reconsider the protocol which was written when there was very limited experience." Eight years of data, and the system is finally being refined rather than just defended.
Finally: three-minute hydration breaks in each half, taken around the 22nd minute, with referee discretion on timing. And if a goalkeeper is being treated on the pitch, neither team gets a tactical timeout with their coaches. No more manufacturing stoppages at the back.
Thirty-two teams, three countries, one referee's handbook that looks nothing like the last World Cup's. Expect the first few weeks to be a learning curve — for players, coaches, and the officials trying to enforce all of it simultaneously.
