Players who cover their mouths during confrontations with opponents and teams who leave the pitch without the referee’s permission can be given red cards under new rules announced on Wednesday by football’s lawmakers.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab), which has been overseeing the sport’s laws since 1886, outlined the changes during its meeting in Vancouver in Canada.
World football’s governing body, Fifa, the organisers of the 2026 World Cup, confirmed it would bring in the Ifab reforms for the impending tournament which starts on 11 June with a match between Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Fifa proposed one of the new rules to Ifab after Real Madrid’s Vinícius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of making a racially charged insult while covering his mouth during a Champions League match in February.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Last week, Uefa, which organises the Champions League, handed Prestianni a six-game ban for the verbal abuse. A Uefa disciplinary said Prestianni’s outburst was homophobic in nature.
“At the discretion of the competition organiser, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card,” said an Ifab statement.
DRC and Iraq book 2026 World Cup spots after inter-confederation play-off wins
Ifab – which is made up of the football associations from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as Fifa, also announced that any player who walks off the field in protest at a referee’s decision can be sanctioned with a red card. The rule also applies to team officials who urge players to leave the field.
The move comes just over four months after the Senegal coach Pape Thiaw ordered his team off the pitch in protest over the referee’s decision to award Morocco a penalty towards the end of the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The game at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat was held up for 15 minutes amid scuffles on the sidelines and in the stands before the match resumed.
Senegal won the game 1-0 after extra-time but the Moroccan football federation appealed against the result. A panel at the Confederation of African Football, which organises the Cup of Nations, upheld the appeal in March and stripped Senegal of the title.
The Senegalese federation has lodged an appeal against that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Ifab said the amendments would be sent to all 48 teams playing in the World Cup which will also be staged in the United States and Canada.
‘We brought hope back’ says DRC keeper Mpasi, as World Cup beckons
Fifa on Wednesday also tweaked rules for the 2026 World Cup which will be the first to boast 48 teams in its 96-year history.
Under the revamped configuration, the top two from the 12 groups of four will advance automatically to a new last-32 knockout game. They will be joined there by the eight best third placed teams.
In the previous 32-team format, players had to serve a one-game ban if they were shown a yellow card in two different games. Single yellow cards were cancelled at previous tournaments after the quarterfinals stage. That ensured no player would miss the final through suspension just because of getting a yellow card in the semifinal.
Fifa will clear the disciplinary records of players who have one yellow card after the three-game group stage so they start the knockout phase afresh.
A second amnesty after the quarterfinals will apply for players who got one yellow during the three previous knockout rounds and whose teams advanced to the semifinals.
“Reflective of the expanded format with an extra knockout round, the Fifa Council confirmed an amendment to the regulations for the Fifa World Cup 2026 whereby single yellow cards in the final competition will be cancelled after the group stage and then again after the quarterfinals,” it said.
