Think of the heartbreak of a saved penalty that gets bundled in
on the rebound, or the fury when a player walks for a soft
second yellow card with no way back.
Now, football lawmakers want to change moments like these
forever, just in time for the biggest World Cup ever, scheduled
to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in June
2026.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which
writes the Laws of the Game, is weighing in on drastic tweaks
to key rules that could shape how the next World Cup is played.
One of the boldest proposals?
Scrapping penalty rebounds for non-shootout penalties
If a penalty is saved or hits the woodwork, play would stop
immediately, ending the chaos of follow-up tap-ins that have
turned countless World Cup moments on their head.
The aim is to put the full pressure back on the taker, one
chance, one shot.
VAR, football’s biggest modern rule, could also get an upgrade.
Introduced at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Video Assistant
Referees (VAR) were designed to fix “clear and obvious errors”
on goals, penalties, straight reds, and mistaken identity.
Since then, VAR has awarded more than 20% more penalties in top
tournaments but has often sparked fresh debates about where its
limits lie.
Now, IFAB wants to push that line further by letting VAR check
second yellow cards, which are still off-limits under current
rules.
It means that a player could be spared a harsh dismissal if the
replay shows the second booking was wrong, or, just as
crucially, that it should stand.
Another tweak under discussion is giving VAR the power to
review corner kicks that lead directly to goals, but only if
there’s a clear and obvious error in awarding the corner.
Wrongly given corners have cost teams dearly at the highest
level, but today’s technology can’t step in to fix that.
These ideas are not final yet. IFAB, which is made up of FIFA
and the four UK football associations, is expected to discuss
the proposals at its annual general meeting later in 2025, with
any approved changes written into the Laws of the Game ahead of
the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026.
If given the green light, these tweaks would likely be tested
in domestic leagues and FIFA tournaments before the next World
Cup kicks off in June 2026 across 16 cities in North America.
This will be the first time the World Cup will be hosted by
three countries, and the first with so many teams.
There could be some big law changes ahead of the 2026 World
Cup next summer... 👀
Football lawmakers are reportedly considering drastic
changes including tweaks to how much VAR can intervene in
play. [66]pic.twitter.com/uBljBBE4Tx
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) [67]July 17, 2025