2026 World Cup: IFAB backs red cards for pitch walkouts, mouth-covering

Football’s law-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), has approved new rule changes that could see players sent off for walking off the pitch in protest or covering their mouths during confrontations at the 2026 World Cup.

The decisions were reached at a special meeting of the FIFA Council in Vancouver, Canada, following proposals by FIFA.

FIFA has confirmed the rules will be implemented at the tournament.

Under the new regulations, referees are empowered to issue red cards to players who leave the field in protest of decisions, as well as to team officials who incite such actions.

“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.

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“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,” the release read.

The move follows incidents at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, where the Senegal national football team players walked off in protest after a penalty was awarded to the Morocco national football team.

When play resumed, Brahim Diaz missed his penalty before Senegal went on to win 1-0, but the Confederation of African Football later overturned the result and awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory.

The new laws also address players covering their mouths during disputes, a practice that has drawn scrutiny in recent matches.

“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,” the release read.

The issue gained attention earlier this year when Gianluca Prestianni raised his shirt while speaking to Vinicius Jr during a Champions League game.

The Argentina international was initially accused of racist abuse and provisionally banned before a UEFA investigation found him guilty of homophobic conduct, leading to a six-match suspension, three of which were suspended.

The matter was later discussed at the IFAB annual general meeting in Wales, where it was agreed it would be reviewed further by FIFA.

Referees will retain full discretion in applying the sanctions, taking into account the context of each incident before issuing a red card.

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said the rules are intended to discourage misconduct on the pitch.

“If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously,” Infantino said.

“There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn’t have said; he wouldn’t have had to cover his mouth.

“If you do not have something to hide, you don’t hide your mouth when you say something. That’s it, as simple as that.”

The amendments will be communicated to participating teams ahead of the World Cup, which begins on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.