FIFA World Cup 2026: Two Rule Changes Announced After AFCON, UEFA Champions League Controversies

Rules for showing red cards to players at the World Cup were updated Tuesday because of two controversies in international football this year.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed for changes after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League game and Senegal’s team walked off the field to protest a referee’s decision in a heated and chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final.

Football's rulemaking panel, the International Football Association Board, agreed that players can be penalized with a red card if they cover their mouths when verbally confronting another player.

The rule is not mandatory within The Laws of the Game but gives competition organizers like FIFA the option to use it.

It was unanimously approved by IFAB officials from FIFA and the four British football federations at a special meeting Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, ahead of the FIFA Congress on Thursday.

FIFA’s proposal followed Vinícius, backed by Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé, accusing Prestianni of making a racially charged insult while raising his jersey to cover his mouth during the game in February.

Last week, UEFA handed Prestianni a six-game ban — three of the games deferred for a probationary period — for the verbal abuse, which it said was homophobic. UEFA could not prove the racial insult which Prestianni denied, though he admitted using a homophobic slur.

If Prestianni is selected for Argentina’s World Cup squad, he must sit out the defending champion’s first two matches in June, although the ban can be appealed.

“At the discretion of the competition organizer, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card,” IFAB said.

IFAB also agreed any player who leaves the field in protest of 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.

Senegal players left the field during stoppage time of the AFCON final in January to protest host nation Morocco being awarded a penalty when the score was 0-0. Play was delayed for nearly 15 minutes before Morocco’s spot-kick was saved. Senegal scored in extra time to win the title.

Senegal was later stripped of the title by an appeals panel of African soccer’s governing body, and the case will now be judged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IFAB said the amendments will be communicated to all 48 teams playing in the World Cup starting June 11, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.