Summary of 8 new rules for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the FIFA Referee Chief emphasizing efforts to reduce time-wasting.
On 1 June 2026, a summary of 8 new rules to be implemented at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from 11 June to 19 July, was announced after FIFA Referee Chief Pierluigi Collina highlighted key regulations.
Recently, Pierluigi Collina revealed that in the 2026 World Cup, players will be prohibited from entering the technical area to receive tactical instructions from coaches when goalkeepers are injured. This follows recent tactics where goalkeepers feign injury to request timeouts or to disrupt opponents who have the advantage.
Therefore, the 2026 World Cup will introduce several rule changes focusing on eliminating tactics aimed at slowing play and time-wasting. Pierluigi Collina hopes these rule changes will ensure injury time is shorter than in the 2022 World Cup and confirmed there will be scheduled 3-minute hydration breaks in both halves.
1. Goalkeepers are prohibited from feigning injury to get tactical advice from coaches.
- If a goalkeeper is injured, players are forbidden from entering the technical area to discuss tactics with the coach.
2. Injured players must leave the field for 1 minute for treatment.
- Exceptions include goalkeepers, seriously injured players, and situations where the opposing team has received a yellow or red card.
3. Substituted players must exit the field within 10 seconds.
- They must leave via the nearest exit; otherwise, the substitute cannot enter the game for at least 1 minute and the team must continue with 10 players.
4. Throw-ins must be taken within 5 seconds.
- If a player deliberately delays restarting play, the opposing team may be awarded the throw-in instead.
5. Goal kicks must be taken within 5 seconds.
- This also applies to deliberate time-wasting and may result in the opposing team being awarded a corner kick instead.
6. Fouls before corner kicks can be reviewed by VAR.
- VAR can quickly check if the corner kick was correctly awarded and whether a foul occurred, but only before play restarts. This does not apply to errors in awarding goal kicks.
7. Second yellow cards can be reviewed by VAR.
- Players sent off due to a second yellow card can have the decision reviewed retrospectively, but there will be no VAR checks for potential second yellow card incidents during the match.
8. Players covering their mouths during confrontations may receive a red card.
- This rule was introduced following a controversial incident between Benfica's Gianluca Prestiani and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in the UEFA Champions League playoff round in February, where Prestiani was banned for six matches by UEFA for discriminatory behavior.
