At a Special Meeting held in Vancouver, Canada, The IFAB unanimously approved two FIFA-proposed Law amendments to address discriminatory and inappropriate behaviour. As was agreed at The IFAB’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February, these decisions follow thorough FIFA-led consultations with all key stakeholders.
Players covering their mouths in situations of confrontation with opponents
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.
Players leaving the field of play in protest at a referee’s decision
At the discretion of the competition organiser, the referee may sanction with a red card any player who leaves the field of play in protest at a referee's decision. This new rule will also apply to any team official who incites players to leave the field of play. A team that causes a match to be abandoned will, in principle, forfeit the match.
These amendments will be communicated to the 48 participating teams at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the coming weeks.
Source: FIFA
