Main red card rule in the 2026 World Cup: Covering the mouth and walking out now results in immediate sending off! | International Sports News –

The 2026 World Cup, which has already shaken things up with its expansion to 48 teams, is about to make some changes to how players are disciplined on the field as well. FIFA’s introduction of new red card rules after a series of recent incidents has raised concerns about player behaviour.With the tournament being hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, it was already set to be a major departure from previous World Cups, and now these new rules add another twist to the mix.

Confrontations with covering the mouth are punishable by a red card

Among the key changes will allow referees to send off players who cover their mouths while confronting an opponent, a gesture that has become increasingly common in modern football and has come under scrutiny in the context of allegations of abuse. The rule accelerated after an incident involving Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Benfica’s Gianluca Pristiani during a Champions League knockout match in February. During that match, Vinicius accused Pristiani of racially abusing him, as the Benfica player was seen speaking while covering his mouth with his shirt, after which Vinicius immediately alerted referee François Letxer and the match was stopped for 10 minutes under UEFA protocols.

Prestiani denied the allegation, later stating that he had used homophobic language in Spanish rather than a racist term, with UEFA maintaining that both forms of discriminatory language fell under the same disciplinary framework. UEFA subsequently handed down a six-match ban for Pristiani for discriminatory behaviour, with three two-match bans and one already served provisionally, while the punishment remains subject to appeal.

Following this incident, FIFA officially proposed tightening the sanctions, and the matter was referred to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which is responsible for determining the laws of the game. At a meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved the change by unanimous consent, introducing a clause allowing competition organizers to impose red cards in such situations.

A statement by the International Football Association Board said: “At the discretion of the competition organizer, any player who covers his mouth in a confrontation situation with an opponent may be punished with a red card.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously indicated his support for the measure, telling Sky News after a February IFAB meeting in Wales that he believed players should be sent off if they confronted opponents while covering their mouths.Read also: The new yellow card rule for the 2026 World Cup will affect every country.

Walking out in protest will now result in immediate dismissal

The second major change addresses situations where players leave the field in protest against refereeing decisions, with FIFA moving to impose immediate red cards for such behavior during the World Cup. The rule will also extend to officials who encourage or incite players to leave the field, expanding the scope beyond individual misconduct to include collective behaviour. Under the updated approach, any team responsible for causing a match to be abandoned would, in principle, forfeit the match, reinforcing the consequences of such actions within the tournament structure. This decision is directly related to the events of the 2025 African Cup of Nations final, which was held on January 18, 2026, in which the Senegal national football team and the Moroccan national football team participated. During that match, Morocco were awarded a penalty kick in stoppage time after a foul on Achraf Hakimi, prompting Senegal players to leave the field in protest. The stoppage lasted for about 17 minutes before the players returned, and although Brahim Diaz missed the penalty kick, the match continued into extra time as Pape Gueye scored to give Senegal a 1-0 win on the pitch.

However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) later decided that Senegal’s exit constituted a breach of competition regulations, annulled the result and awarded Morocco a technical 3-0 win. Senegal has since appealed this decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the case is ongoing.

Application is currently limited, and wider adoption requires approval by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Although both rule changes will be implemented at the 2026 World Cup, they are not yet permanent additions to the game’s global laws. For either measure to be adopted globally across domestic leagues and international competitions, they must be formally incorporated into the IFAB rulebook beyond the current tournament-specific application. FIFA noted that these measures are being implemented in response to recent events and growing concerns about player behaviour, with the World Cup serving as a controlled environment to implement and evaluate their impact.

Tournament context: expansion and hosting structure

The discipline changes come as part of a larger transformation for the 2026 World Cup, which will expand to include 48 teams and introduce a new group stage system before heading to a 32-team knockout round. The United States will host 78 of the 104 matches, including all matches from the quarterfinals onwards, while Canada and Mexico will each play 13 matches. Alongside this, FIFA will introduce two yellow card reset points to reflect the longer system, with bookings cleared after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals, ensuring players are less likely to miss crucial matches due to bookings accumulated earlier in the tournament. With multiple layers of change already built into the competition, the introduction of tougher red card rules reflects an effort to shape on-pitch behavior in line with those wider adjustments.