What Are the New Rules at the 2026 World Cup?

This is the detail most summaries get wrong. The tournament kicked off on 11 June 2026, three weeks before the Laws of the Game 2026/27 came into force on 1 July 2026. So the World Cup was played under the Laws of the Game 2025/26.

That is only half the answer. IFAB allows a competition that starts before 1 July to adopt the incoming material early, and FIFA did. Three separate layers were in force across the 104 matches:

1. Laws of the Game 2025/26 — the baseline, including the 8-second goalkeeper rule.
2. The 2026/27 match-flow package — 5-second restarts, the time-limited substitution protocol, and the off-field treatment protocol.
3. IFAB circular no. 33 (circulated 19 May 2026) — two new sending-off offences, both competition options that FIFA opted into.

On top of the Laws, FIFA added a competition measure of its own: mandatory three-minute hydration breaks in every match. That one is not an IFAB Law at all — it is a tournament regulation, which is why you will not find it in any rulebook.

If you want the officiating side in full rather than the tournament slice, the football referee guide carries the complete 2026/27 changes. For how the decisions actually landed on the pitch, see the 2026 World Cup VAR controversies explained.

A goalkeeper who controls the ball with their hands for longer than 8 seconds now concedes a corner kick to the opposing team. This replaces the old 6-second rule, which gave an indirect free kick and was almost never enforced.

The referee gives the goalkeeper a visible warning. With 5 seconds left, the referee raises an arm and counts down on their fingers from five to zero. If the ball is not released by zero, the corner is awarded.

The countdown serves two purposes. It warns the goalkeeper, and it tells teammates to move into space so the keeper can release the ball in time.

IFAB approved the change for the 2025/26 season after trials in Premier League 2 and league football in Malta and Italy. It first appeared at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and applies worldwide from elite to amateur level.

The referee starts counting from the moment the goalkeeper has clear control with the hands. A keeper who quickly rolls the ball out and picks it up again does not reset the count for tactical delay. For more on how officials manage a match, see the football referee guide. The change sits alongside the broader World Cup 2026 format.

Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) tracks player limbs and ball contact, then alerts officials when a player is clearly offside. The 2026 system sends an instant audio alert to the officials the moment a clear offside is detected, instead of waiting for a video review.

FIFA scans every player to build a 3D avatar for offside calculations. All 1,248 players across the 48 squads are digitally captured so the system can map exact limb positions.

The precision threshold tightened for 2026. The earlier generation flagged players who were more than 50 cm offside; the 2026 version surfaces calls down to around 10 cm, catching tight situations the old net let through.

SAOT assists the officials, it does not replace them. The referee and assistants still make the final decision, using the avatar graphic and the audio prompt as evidence.

The goal is speed and consistency. A call that once took a long video check can now resolve in seconds, with the same geometry applied to every match. The 2026 World Cup is the first men's World Cup to run the upgraded version, and the full technology stack behind it is broken down in the technology behind the 2026 World Cup. JudgeMate does not provide offside or VAR tooling; for what the platform's football live scoreboard does cover, see its dedicated guide.

IFAB added timed limits to restarts and stoppages that referees previously left untimed. The aim is more effective ball-in-play time, which had fallen well below an hour in many matches.

Throw-ins: if the referee judges the throw is being delayed, a visible 5-second countdown starts. If the ball is not in play by zero, possession switches and the opponent takes the throw-in instead.

Goal kicks: the same 5-second countdown applies, but the sanction is harsher — the opposing team is awarded a corner kick, the same restart used for the goalkeeper rule.

Substitutions (time-limited substitution protocol): a player being replaced has 10 seconds to leave the field at the nearest point on the touchline or goal line once the board is shown or the referee signals. If they take longer, they still have to go — but the substitute cannot enter until the first stoppage after one minute of running time has elapsed following the restart. In practice the team plays a man short in the meantime, which is the part that actually deters the slow walk.

Injury treatment (off-field treatment and assessment protocol): an outfield player who is assessed or treated on the pitch, or whose injury stops play, must leave the field and stay off for one minute of running time after play restarts. There are exceptions — a goalkeeper injury, a severe injury, or a collision between two players. This removes the incentive to use an injury stoppage to break up an opponent's momentum.

These limits share a logic with the goalkeeper rule. The referee shows a visible countdown or a clear signal, so players know the deadline, and the sanction is a restart or a numerical disadvantage rather than a card.

FIFA pushed the same direction at the 2022 World Cup by adding long stoppage-time totals. The 2026 measures attack the delay at its source instead of compensating for it afterwards.

This was the most visible change of the tournament, and it is not an IFAB Law. It is a FIFA competition measure applied to all 104 matches.

The referee stops play 22 minutes into each half for a hydration break lasting three minutes, whistle to whistle. There is no temperature or weather trigger: the break happens in a roofed, air-conditioned stadium exactly as it does in Dallas in June. FIFA's stated reason is equal conditions for every team in every match, drawing on what it learned at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

"For every game, no matter where the games are played, no matter if there's a roof, (or) temperature-wise, there will be a three-minute hydration break," said Manolo Zubiria, FIFA's Chief Tournament Officer for the United States, when the measure was announced in December 2025.

For an official, two details matter. First, the break is refereed, not automatic — if an injury stoppage is already running at the 20th or 21st minute, the referee handles the timing on the spot. Second, six minutes of deliberate stoppage per match has to be accounted for, which is one reason added time at this tournament looked generous by historical standards.

The breaks were not universally popular. Crowds booed them in several matches, and critics argued they interrupted the rhythm of play and functioned as a commercial slot. FIFA's position throughout was player welfare in a June-and-July tournament staged largely in North American summer heat.

VAR still reviews only four match-changing categories: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards, and mistaken identity. The reviewable detail inside those categories grew for 2026.

With clear evidence, VAR can now intervene on a red card from an incorrect second yellow, on clearer mistaken-identity cases, and on a corner kick awarded in error that leads to a goal. The four headline triggers are unchanged.

That second-yellow addition matters more than it sounds. A straight red is reviewable; a second yellow historically was not. Both of the new sending-off offences described below are straight reds, which is why VAR could be used to check them.

FIFA also pushed transparency efforts, including in-stadium and broadcast explanations of decisions, building on trials that announced VAR outcomes to the crowd. Mid-tournament, FIFA moved VAR officials into the stadiums from the quarter-finals onward after complaints about the centralised set-up.

Some competitions apply a referee-respect protocol where only the team captain may approach the referee to discuss a decision. The exact application varies by competition rather than being a single global Law.

VAR is run by FIFA's match officials, not by any scoring app. JudgeMate has no VAR tooling: its football product is a free live scoreboard for clock, goals, and cards in a single match. For the discipline side of officiating, read the football referee guide.

The IFAB approved two new sending-off offences unanimously at a Special Meeting in Vancouver on 28 April 2026 and circulated the wording in circular no. 33 on 19 May 2026. Both are competition options — an organiser has to opt in — and FIFA opted in for the World Cup.

1. Covering the mouth. A player who covers their mouth with a hand, arm, or shirt when communicating with an opponent in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory manner or situation is sent off. The point is not the gesture itself: a player shielding a friendly word from the cameras commits no offence. The offence exists because covering the mouth in a confrontation hides abuse from lip-readers, broadcast footage, and any subsequent disciplinary process. The amendment followed the 2025-26 Champions League incident involving Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior.

Teaching case: Paraguay's Miguel Almirón became the first player ever sent off under this text, in the group match against Türkiye on 20 June 2026, in the third minute of first-half added time. Salvadoran referee Iván Barton sent him off after a short VAR review. Note what made the review possible: a straight red is one of the four VAR-reviewable categories. Had the same conduct produced a second yellow, no check would have been available. Nothing was ever established about what Almirón said — which is precisely the mechanism the rule is built around.

2. Leaving the field in protest. A player who leaves the field of play in protest at a referee's decision — including a decision for play to continue or to restart — is sent off, as is a player who instructs or encourages team-mates to do so. A team official who instructs or encourages players to leave is also sent off, even if the players do not actually leave. Under Law 7.5, a team responsible for a match being abandoned in principle forfeits it, subject to competition regulations.

ESPN's rules briefing, written by former Premier League referee Andy Davies, pointed at the case the amendment is written to prevent: the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco in January 2026, where Senegal's players left the pitch in protest after a stoppage-time penalty was awarded to Morocco. CAF subsequently ruled that Senegal had forfeited and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win.

The seven-player problem. A match cannot continue with fewer than seven players in a team, which creates an obvious exploit: walk enough players off and the match dies. Circular no. 33 closes it from both ends. Where a team drops below seven because players deliberately left, the referee is not obliged to stop play and may play advantage — but the match must not resume once the ball next goes out of play. And the seven-player minimum is counted without subtracting players serving a temporary dismissal or one of the one-minute periods off the field created by the substitution and injury-treatment protocols. Without that carve-out, the tournament's own anti-time-wasting rules could have abandoned a match.

The full enumerated red-card and yellow-card lists, including where these two offences sit in Law 12, are in the football referee guide.

Three problems drove the package: time-wasting, decision accuracy, and player behaviour. Effective playing time had dropped, tight offside calls were taking too long to resolve, and two high-profile incidents — one in the Champions League, one in the Africa Cup of Nations final — showed gaps in what referees could sanction.

The goalkeeper and restart limits target delay directly. A corner kick is a sharper deterrent than an indirect free kick, so referees are more willing to apply it, which is why the old 6-second rule was scrapped. The one-minute protocols go further: they make the sanction a temporary numerical disadvantage, which no captain can shrug off.

The offside and VAR upgrades target accuracy and speed. Faster automated alerts and tighter thresholds aim for consistent calls across all 104 matches of the tournament.

The table below summarises the old rule against the rule used at the 2026 World Cup.

Area	Old rule	Rule used at the 2026 World Cup
Goalkeeper holding the ball	6 seconds, indirect free kick (rarely enforced)	8 seconds, corner kick, 5-second visual countdown
Offside detection	SAOT alert above ~50 cm, relayed via VAR	3D avatars, ~10 cm threshold, instant audio alert
Throw-ins	No fixed time limit	5-second countdown or possession switches to the opponent
Goal kicks	No fixed time limit	5-second countdown or a corner kick is awarded
Substitution exit	No fixed time limit	10 seconds to leave; otherwise the substitute waits one minute of running time
On-field injury treatment	Player returns immediately	Player stays off for one minute of running time (with exceptions)
Drinks breaks	Only in extreme heat, at the organiser's discretion	Mandatory 3 minutes, 22 minutes into each half, all 104 matches
Covering the mouth in a confrontation	No specific offence	Sending-off offence (competition option)
Leaving the field in protest	No specific offence	Sending-off offence; abandonment in principle forfeits the match
VAR reviewable detail	Four categories only	Adds second-yellow reds, clearer mistaken identity, wrong corners

Here is a short stretch of a group-stage match showing the new rules in action.

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62:10 — Goalkeeper delay

The Team A keeper catches a cross and holds the ball, looking for a long pass. At 62:15 the referee raises an arm and counts down: five, four, three, two, one. The ball is still in the keeper's hands at zero.

Decision: corner kick to Team B (8-second rule).

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62:48 — Tight offside

Team B swings the corner short and a striker turns it in. The SAOT system maps the 3D avatars and detects the striker roughly 8 cm beyond the second-to-last defender. An audio alert reaches the officials within seconds.

Decision: offside, goal disallowed. Under the old 50 cm net this call would not have been flagged automatically.

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64:30 — Slow throw-in

Team A, now ahead, takes its time on a throw-in near the corner flag. The referee starts a visible 5-second count. The thrower does not release in time.

Decision: throw-in handed to Team B.

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66:00 — Slow substitution

Team A's number 9 is replaced and takes his time walking to the halfway line instead of the nearest touchline. He is off after roughly 25 seconds.

Decision: the substitute waits. He cannot enter until the first stoppage after one minute of running time from the restart, so Team A defends a corner with 10 players.

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71:20 — Confrontation

Two players square up after a foul. A Team B midfielder pulls his shirt over his mouth and says something into the face of his opponent.

Decision: straight red card for covering the mouth in a confrontational situation. Because it is a straight red, VAR can check it — the referee confirms the identity of the player on the monitor.

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Four of the five moments here did not exist as sanctions before 2026. Each one either keeps the ball in play or sharpens the decision, which is exactly what the changes were written to do.