Posted by VARify | June 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two weeks away, and for the first time in years, football's lawmakers haven't just tweaked the rulebook — they've overhauled it. IFAB and FIFA have confirmed a sweeping package of changes that will reshape how the game is refereed across 104 matches in the US, Canada and Mexico.

At the centre of it all? VAR. More powerful, more interventionist, and — let's be honest — more controversial than ever.

Here's the full breakdown of what's changed, why it matters, and some recent incident that brought the new rules into focus.

1. VAR Can Now Rule on Second Yellow Cards

For the first time, VAR officials will be able to review incidents leading to a second yellow card. Previously, a player wrongly dismissed on two bookings had no recourse — VAR simply couldn't intervene.

That changes in 2026. If a second booking is incorrectly awarded, the VAR team can step in to flag the error, potentially keeping a player on the pitch who would otherwise have been sent off.

Will it remove controversy or just generate a different kind? Watch this space.

2. Pre-Ball-in-Play Fouls at Set-Pieces Are Now Reviewable

This is the rule that will generate the most debate at this tournament, and the one Pierluigi Collina was most eager to explain.

VAR will now have authority to intervene if a foul is committed by an attacking player before the ball is in play at a corner or free-kick — provided it has a direct impact on a goal, penalty, or disciplinary decision. Collina highlighted England's goal in their March friendly against Uruguay as a prime candidate: Adam Wharton blocked off a defender before Ben White headed home. Under the new framework, that's disallowed.

The incident that made it necessary: Tottenham fans will recognise this one. Marc Cucurella fouled Micky van de Ven during a corner — grabbing him before the ball was in play — but the referee booked Cucurella without awarding a penalty, believing the ball hadn't yet been delivered. VAR checked and concluded the infringement had stopped in time. Spurs were furious. Under the new rules, exactly that kind of pre-delivery foul gets a second look as a matter of course.

This is the rule that will generate the most debate at this tournament. Goals scored from corners and free-kicks will now carry an extra layer of scrutiny that fans, pundits and managers have never had to contend with before.

3. Wrongly-Awarded Corners Are Now in Scope

It sounds procedural. It isn't. A corner mistakenly awarded — where the ball actually last touched an attacking player — can be the entire platform for a goal that follows. VAR could previously do nothing about it. Now it can.

The kind of moment this targets: How many times have you watched a ball clip an attacker's shin on the way out, the referee point to the corner flag, and a goal arrive from the resulting set-piece? Under the old rules, unless there was a foul in the box, VAR wasn't intervening. Under the new rules, the incorrect awarding of the corner itself is reviewable. Clean it up before the chaos starts.

4. Mistaken Identity: VAR Can Now Correct Second Yellow Bookings Too

Mistaken identity has always been in VAR's remit when it comes to direct red cards — if the wrong player was sent off, the system could flag it. But second yellows? Not covered.

That gap is closed for 2026. A player booked for a foul he didn't commit, picking up a second yellow in the process, can now be saved by VAR before he trudges off down the tunnel.

5. The Red Card for Covering Your Mouth

This one came out of nowhere, and it is going to catch someone out in the first week.

Players who cover their mouths with a hand, arm or shirt during a confrontational exchange will now be shown a red card. Collina drew a careful distinction: casual conversations are fine. Confrontational ones with a covered mouth are a straight red.

The incident that made it happen: In February 2026, Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt during a confrontation with Vinicius Junior in a Champions League playoff. Vinicius alleged a racial slur; Mbappé said he heard it too. Play stopped for ten minutes. No action was possible — because the mouth was covered. Less than four months later, it's a straight red.

6. Stricter Anti-Timewasting Measures

The 2026 World Cup is cracking down hard on time-wasting, with visible countdown timers added to throw-ins and goal-kicks.

Throw-ins must be taken within a 5-second countdown, or possession switches to the opposition.
Goal-kicks must be taken within the same window, or the opposition gets a corner kick.
Substitutes have just 10 seconds to leave the pitch once a change is signalled.
Tactical timeouts — where teams used injury stoppages to gather around coaches for instructions — are being clamped down on. FIFA has instructed referees to actively prevent players clustering around coaches during treatment breaks.

The kind of moment this targets: You know the scene. A team defends a one-goal lead in the 80th minute. A substitute ambles off at glacial pace. A goal-kick is retaken twice before the goalkeeper fancies his chances. A player goes down, gets treatment, and the entire team plus the coaching staff hold a tactical meeting on the pitch. The game dies. This package of rules is a direct attack on that playbook.

7. Referee Reviews at the Pitch-Side Monitor

For several of the new reviewable incidents — including set-piece fouls and disciplinary decisions — referees may now be instructed to go to the pitch-side monitor themselves before making a final call. Rather than a faceless decision from the VAR booth, the on-field official is expected to look at the evidence and decide in front of everyone.

More transparency, yes. Also: more stoppages, more deliberation, and more time for 60,000 people in a stadium — and millions watching at home — to form a view before the decision comes.

The Bottom Line: More Decisions, More Debate

Taken together, these changes represent the most significant expansion of VAR's authority since the technology was introduced at Russia 2018. More incidents are reviewable. More decisions can be overturned. More situations will require referees to consult the screen.

That's either reassuring or deeply worrying, depending on how much you trust the officials. And if the last few seasons of Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football have taught us anything, it's that trust in refereeing decisions is at an all-time low.

Which is exactly why we built VARify.

Have Your Say with VARify

Every controversial call. Every disallowed goal. Every baffling red card. VARify is the app that puts the decision back in your hands — letting football fans vote on refereeing calls in real time, and find out whether the rest of the football world agrees with you.

With VAR's expanded powers at the 2026 World Cup, there are going to be more decisions than ever that make you shout at your screen. Now you can do something about it.

VARify covers the EPL, UCL, UEL, SPFL, and the FIFA World Cup 2026. Download it, vote on the calls that matter, and let's find out what The fan's VAR would give.

Download VARify on iOS or Android

Got strong opinions about the new rules? Good. See you on the app.

The Referee Just Got More Power. So Did You.