Zurich: FIFA has amended its World Cup rules regarding yellow cards to reduce player suspensions during critical elimination matches.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, FIFA’s ruling council proposed an additional amnesty for yellow cards during a meeting on Tuesday, which will be implemented during the expanded tournament in North America. FIFA later confirmed the change in a statement, highlighting that the disciplinary records of players with single yellow cards will be wiped clean twice. This will occur after the group stage and again after the quarterfinals, reflecting the tournament’s expanded format with an extra knockout round.
At previous tournaments, players faced a one-game suspension if they received yellow cards in two separate games, with the cancellations of single yellow cards occurring after the quarterfinal stage. This ensured that no player would miss the final due to a yellow card received in the semifinals. With the new 48-team format and the addition of a round-of-32 knockout stage, FIFA aims to keep more players eligible for matches.
FIFA will clear the disciplinary records of players who receive one yellow card after the three-game group stage, allowing them to start the knockout phase on equal footing. A second amnesty will take place after the quarterfinals for players who receive a yellow card during the preceding knockout rounds and whose teams advance to the semifinals.
In addition to the rule change, FIFA announced an increase in financial resources allocated to the 48 participating World Cup teams by 15%, bringing the total to $871 million, or just over $18 million per team. This includes an increase in preparation money from $1.5 million to $2.5 million per team and an increase in qualification money from $9 million to $10 million. The World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.