FIFA ‘to ease’ yellow card accumulation rule for 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

According to BBC Sport, FIFA is expected to relax its yellow card accumulation rules for the 2026 World Cup, adding a wipe after the group stage as well as after the quarter-finals.

At present, a player who collects two bookings in separate matches is automatically suspended for the next game. The slate is cleared only once, after the quarter-finals, to avoid a player missing the final because of a semi-final caution.

With the tournament expanding from 32 to 48 teams, an extra round, the last 32, has been introduced. That increases the number of matches before the semi-finals, heightening the risk of suspensions late in the competition.

Under the proposed change, a player would be banned if booked in two of the three group games, or if they receive two yellows across the first three knockout rounds, the last 32, last 16 and quarter-finals.

The adjustment is expected to be adopted at FIFA Congress on Thursday in Vancouver, Canada. The 2026 finals run from 11 June to 19 July in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Source: L'Équipe