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Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has announced the adoption of a new change to the regulations of the 2026 World Cup, which provides that penalties and suspensions imposed during preliminary qualification will not be carried over to the final, after consultation with continental federations at a meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
The FIFA Council Office unanimously decided to amend Article 10, Clause 2 of the tournament regulations to reorganize the issue of card accumulation and fines before the start of the World Cup.
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Details of the new change
Under the revised wording, individual yellow cards, as well as one- or two-match bans resulting from the accumulation of game scores in various qualifying matches, will not carry over to the World Cup finals.
The decision also includes not carrying forward an indirect red card or a direct red card resulting from foul play or denying an opponent a goal-scoring opportunity.
On the other hand, the amendment made it clear that any penalty resulting from a red card during the qualifiers would remain in effect and apply to the World Cup.
The new change also included the cancellation of yellow card accumulations after the end of the group stage and re-cancellation after the end of the quarter-finals, giving players more freedom in the knockout stages without being affected by previous cautions.
What does the decision mean in practice?
The decision directly reflects some high-profile incidents in recent qualifying rounds. Ecuador’s Moises Caicedo was red-carded after picking up two cautions against Argentina, which previously ruled him out of the World Cup opener against Ivory Coast, but the new change allows him to feature as normal.
In the same match, Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi was sent off, which would have prevented him from participating in the first match against Algeria, but the new decision ensures his full preparation for the start of the tournament.
Argentina are therefore in Group 10 at the 2026 World Cup, along with Algeria, Austria and Jordan, without qualification sanctions affecting their starting line-up.
Exceptions to the decision
Despite the new change, FIFA clarified that some cases were not included in the decision, including that of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who was suspended for three matches and sent off in a qualifier against Ireland, where part of the punishment was served and part of it was suspended, allowing him to participate in the World Cup under the terms of the sentence.
Reports from The Athletic Network also confirmed that the decision does not apply to Argentinian player Gianliuca Pristiani, of Benfica, after his international ban was imposed for racist behaviour. He was banned for six games, three of which were suspensions, meaning that the punishment will continue to apply outside the scope of FIFA’s new regulations.
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