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FIFA Grants Yellow Card Amnesty, Enforces 5-Second Countdown.

6/13/2026

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Summary

Story summary

FIFA granted an extra amnesty that erases single yellow cards after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals.
New time-wasting rules let referees start a five-second countdown for throw-ins and goal kicks, awarding a corner if the count expires.
The video-assistant referee system now reviews corner-kick awards, second-yellow red cards and other incidents.
Players now receive red cards for covering mouths or walking off the pitch.

History

Historical Context

VAR began in the KNVB’s Refereeing 2.0 project in the early 2010s, with Eredivisie trials in 2012-13 and the first live use in July 2016. IFAB wrote VAR into the Laws on 3 March 2018 and FIFA approved it for the 2018 World Cup, where 335 incidents were reviewed. That debut drove adoption by UEFA, the Premier League and other leagues, shaping today’s expanded VAR rules.

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Story summary

FIFA granted an extra amnesty that erases single yellow cards after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals.
New time-wasting rules let referees start a five-second countdown for throw-ins and goal kicks, awarding a corner if the count expires.
The video-assistant referee system now reviews corner-kick awards, second-yellow red cards and other incidents.
Players now receive red cards for covering mouths or walking off the pitch.

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