New World Cup Rules Put the Clock on Every Restart

New World Cup rules put a referee’s clock on restarts and substitutions, and they give the video assistant referee (VAR) a few new doors into match-changing calls. The package was approved by The International Football Association Board (IFAB) for FIFA World Cup 2026™ and other competitions through measures to reduce time-wasting.

The changes do not replace the Laws of the Game. They change the cost of delay. A slow throw-in can become an opponent’s throw, a delayed goal kick can become a corner, and a substitution that drags past 10 seconds can leave the team short until the next permitted stoppage.

The Clock Moves Into the Restart

IFAB framed the package around tempo disruption and time lost. Its February decision said the approved changes respond to calls for practical tools to protect effective playing time. The sanctions sit in ordinary stoppages: throw-ins, goal kicks, substitutions and injury treatment.

The 2026/27 Laws take effect from 1 July 2026, and competitions starting before that date may implement the changes earlier. That is why rules written for the new law cycle appear inside this tournament. The result is a match in which restart management can change possession or numbers on the field.

• Five-second countdown: used when a throw-in or goal kick is being deliberately delayed.
• 10 seconds: the time a substituted player has to leave after the board is shown or the referee signals.
• One minute: the running-clock wait before a late substitute may enter after the restart.
• One minute off: the running-clock wait for an outfield player covered by the treatment protocol.
• Three VAR adjustments: second-yellow red cards, mistaken identity and clearly incorrect corner awards.

Restarts Can Become Possession Swings

A five-second countdown starts when the referee determines that the restart is being deliberately delayed. The protocol then has the referee whistle, signal and count down with a raised hand under the countdown protocol for restarts. The player can also be put under the clock for slow ball retrieval, a wrong throw-in position or a wrong goal-kick position.

The protocol also protects a player who is already in the throwing or kicking motion when the count ends. In that case, IFAB says the player should not be penalised.

So the clock is a tool for deliberate delay, with the referee deciding when that threshold has been crossed. It is visible to the stadium because the official counts with a raised hand. And it is tied to possession, not merely to added time.

Substitutions Now Carry a One-Man Risk

The substitution rule carries the easiest punishment to see. Once the board is displayed or the referee gives the signal, the outgoing player must leave within 10 seconds. If the player does not, they still leave, play restarts, and the substitute cannot enter until the first stoppage after one minute of play.

The substitution cannot be cancelled, and the incoming player cannot be changed after the delay. The one minute is a running clock determined by the referee. The time limit can be waived when an injury or a safety or security issue prevents the player from leaving in time.

VAR Gets a Narrower New Lane

VAR expands in small, named categories. The referee may receive assistance only inside the reviewable categories listed in the latest VAR protocol text. The new entries sit beside the existing goal, penalty, red-card and mistaken-identity framework.

• Goals and offences in the attacking phase.
• Penalty decisions and offences leading up to them.
• Direct red-card cases, now including a clearly incorrect second caution.
• Mistaken identity when the wrong player from the penalised team receives the card.
• Clearly incorrectly awarded corner kicks, if the decision can be changed immediately and without delaying the restart.

The corner part has a speed limit of its own. A corner that has been taken quickly cannot be changed. The protocol also keeps the corner review as a competition option.

There is a separate World Cup clarification for attacking-team offences before the ball is in play at a corner kick or free kick. Under the set-piece VAR clarification, the VAR can recommend an on-field review if the clear offence directly affects a goal, penalty kick or disciplinary sanction.

In practice, VAR at corners has two lanes. One is an immediate correction of a clearly wrong corner award. The other is a review of an attacking-team offence before a set piece when that offence feeds into a reviewable outcome.

Treated Players Must Wait Off the Field

For outfield players, treatment now comes with a wait. If play stops for an actual or suspected injury, or if medical staff are called on, the player must leave and stay off for one minute after the restart. The period is a running clock controlled by the referee.

The protocol says the purpose is to give medical staff time off the field to decide whether the player should continue and to reduce disruption to match tempo. The substitution itself is not delayed if the injured player is replaced.

• Goalkeeper injury.
• Goalkeeper and outfield player collision.
• Collision between players from the same team.
• Severe injury, especially a head injury, cardiac issue or life-threatening event.
• Injury caused by an offence for which the opponent is cautioned or sent off.
• A penalty has been awarded and the injured player will take it.

The list keeps emergency and goalkeeper cases outside the normal one-minute wait. It also keeps a penalty taker available when the penalty has already been awarded.

Two Behaviour Rules Carry Red Cards

The conduct changes carry the heaviest cards. FIFA said a player covering the mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card, and a player who leaves the field in protest at a referee’s decision may also be sent off through red card measures approved for the tournament.

IFAB’s circular uses more exact wording for the mouth-covering rule: provocative, derisory or inflammatory manner or situation. It also covers a substitute or substituted player. A team official can be sent off for instructing or encouraging players to leave in protest.

A team that causes a match to be abandoned is treated differently from one player losing control. IFAB says, in principle, the team will forfeit the match if it is responsible for abandonment because it has fewer than seven players. That rule is subject to the relevant competition regulations.

The Goalkeeper Huddle Rule Has No Card

The goalkeeper huddle rule sits in a different box. IFAB agreed to trials to assess tactical injury delays by goalkeepers and to propose options to deter the behaviour. That rule is separate from the one-minute off-field rule for outfield players.

At the World Cup, Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer, told the BBC that officials would prevent players from going to the benches during a goalkeeper injury. He also said there would be no yellow cards or disciplinary action for players who try to speak to the coach.

The distinction sets the rule list. Restarts can flip the ball, substitutions can leave a team short, and the two conduct rules can remove a player. Goalkeeper huddles are handled by referee prevention while IFAB keeps testing sanctions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the new World Cup rules in 2026?

The new World Cup rules cover restart countdowns, 10-second substitutions, one-minute off-field waits for treated outfield players, expanded VAR cases, conduct red cards and the yellow-card reset.

Can VAR review corners at the 2026 World Cup?

Yes, VAR can be used for a clearly incorrectly awarded corner kick when the correction can be made immediately and without delaying the restart, and a separate clarification covers attacking-team offences before a corner or free kick if they directly affect a goal, penalty or disciplinary sanction.

What is the 10-second substitution rule?

A substituted player has 10 seconds after the board or referee signal to leave. If the player takes longer, the substitute waits until the first stoppage after one minute of running-clock play following the restart.

Do players get a red card for covering their mouth?

A player may be sent off for covering the mouth while communicating with an opponent in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory manner or situation. Friendly or tactical mouth-covering with teammates is not the conduct named in the law change.

What happens when a player receives treatment on the field?

An outfield player covered by the protocol must leave and remain off for one minute after the restart. Goalkeeper injuries, severe injuries, some collision cases, carded offences and penalty-taker cases have exceptions.

Do yellow cards reset at World Cup 2026?

Yes, FIFA Council said single yellow cards in the final competition will be cancelled after the group stage and then again after the quarter-finals.