The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has approved a sweeping package of rule changes that will come into effect at the 2026 World Cup, covering expanded VAR authority, stricter conduct standards, and a series of anti-timewasting provisions.

The tournament, hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will serve as the first major stage for these regulations.

New conduct rules and red card offences

Any player who covers their mouth with a hand, arm, or shirt during a confrontational situation will now be dismissed with a red card. Players who speak privately with opponents in a friendly manner will not be penalised under this rule.

Players who walk off the pitch to protest a refereeing decision will also receive a red card. Should a team's actions cause a match to be abandoned, that team will automatically forfeit the fixture. Team officials who encourage players to leave the field of play face the same punishment.

Expanded VAR powers

VAR's scope has been widened to allow intervention in cases of wrongly-awarded second yellow cards, mistaken identity incidents, and incorrectly-awarded corner kicks.

Officials may also intervene when a foul is committed before the ball is in play at a set-piece — for example, an attacker blocking a defender ahead of a corner. Where VAR identifies such an offence, the referee will be directed to the pitchside monitor for a review before determining whether disciplinary action is required and whether the set-piece should be retaken.

Reviews of corner-kick decisions will apply only to clear and obvious errors and must not delay the restart of play. Crucially, VAR will only step in to reverse a wrongly-awarded second yellow card — it will not recommend a booking that was never shown on the pitch in the first place.

Tactical timeouts targeted

FIFA has moved to address the growing practice of teams using player injuries as an opportunity to regroup, hold tactical discussions, and break up play. FIFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina confirmed the issue was raised at a workshop attended by the head coaches of all 48 teams competing at the World Cup.

While no formal sanction mechanism was agreed upon, Collina indicated that referees would take a proactive stance against teams exploiting injuries.