What changed
2026-08-05 02:07 UTC → 2026-08-05 09:35 UTC ·
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In late Following Argentina’s July 2026 the Argentine Football Association introduced rollout of seven fast‑play regulations for the Primera Nacional to cut interruptions. The rules imposed strict ten‑second limits for substitutions, five‑second countdowns for throw‑ins and goal‑kicks, a mandatory one‑minute exclusion after on‑field medical treatment, a ban on covering the mouth during disputes (originally a red‑card sanction), and penalties for deliberate delays and accidental double‑touches on penalties. Following this, Nacional, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced confirmed that LaLiga and other Spanish competitions will adopt the same IFAB‑approved changes for the 2026‑27 season. Spain’s The Spanish package mirrors Argentina’s timing limits, adds a five‑second visual countdown for delayed throw‑ins, and expands VAR authority to review expulsions, mistaken‑identity red cards, second‑yellow errors, corner decisions and penalty double‑touch incidents. The RFEF also introduced a lighter A softened “Vini Jr. law” that replaces the red‑card sanction for players who cover their mouth with now issues a yellow card. card when a player covers his mouth during an argument. On 4 August 2026 the RFEF clarified detailed implementation: substituted players must leave the field within ten seconds; if they exceed this, seconds, otherwise the replacement may only enter after the next stoppage following a one‑minute interval. When a goalkeeper receives interval; any player receiving on‑field medical treatment, an outfield teammate treatment must leave stay off the pitch for one minute. Persistent delays on throw‑ins, goal‑kicks or goal‑area restarts minute, with an outfield teammate exiting for a minute when a goalkeeper is treated. Goal‑kicks taken late result in possession changes or a corner awards to award, and penalty kicks are retaken if the opposition. All measures stem from IFAB trials at kicker accidentally touches the 2026 World Cup ball twice. In the same announcement UEFA said the suspension threshold in its club‑competition league phase will rise from three to four yellow cards, with further suspensions after every two additional yellows. These measures are part of a coordinated effort by IFAB, UEFA and aim national federations to speed up matches, reduce play, curb time‑wasting and improve officiating consistency across South American Europe and European top‑level football. South America.