The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has unanimously approved two FIFA-proposed Law amendments to address discriminatory and inappropriate behaviour.
At a Special Meeting held in Vancouver, Canada, the approval came after an agreement made at the IFAB’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February.
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In the new move, any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent may be sanctioned with a red card.
In another move, 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.
Taking to social media, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said,” At a Special Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in 🇨🇦 Vancouver, some key decisions were taken to protect the integrity of our game and ensure mutual respect continues to govern football at all levels.
“We unanimously agreed that 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. Further, 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.
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“I thank all stakeholders for your time, valuable inputs and alignment on these important matters which have been managed in a consultation process led by FIFA. These amendments will be implemented at the upcoming 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇸 FIFA World Cup 2026 and all other competition organisers will be able to decide whether to implement the changes before they enter into force on 1 July 2026.
These amendments will be communicated to the 48 participating teams at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the coming weeks.
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