“FIFA RUINED The World Cup” - New Red Cards, VAR Powers & Rule Overhaul INFURIATES Fans

**Patrick Bet-David** (0:00)
World Cup games face hours-long delays over major safety concerns across US stadiums. And by the way, let me tell you about the new rules for World Cup.
I don't know how excited you are, I know we're very excited, and the guys are gonna be using the podcast room to listen, we'll watch the games on a daily basis. I know Jake's already given me the look. This place is gonna be the place. No one's gonna be at the 1200 building, they're all gonna be here. I hope we regulate it accordingly. But here's the new rules, and some don't like it. Some people don't like it. I don't know for the people that are following this, the World Cup, last World Cup, in my opinion, was the greatest finals game in my, for me to watch it, it was phenomenal, where Mbappe gets a hat-trick, and then Messi ends up winning the first one with a goalie saving that one goal at 123rd minute. So here's the new rules. Here's the new rules that they're doing.
2026 World Cup will introduce one of the biggest rule overhauls in years with FIFA and IFAB, targeting time-wasting, expanding VAR authority, and increasing punishments for players' misconduct. Let's go through it. VAR gets expanded powers. VAR can now intervene on incorrectly awarded corner kicks, attacking fouls committed before corners and free kicks that later lead to goals, penalties, corners, or free kicks, incorrect second yellow cards that result in red cards, mistaken identity, disciplinary decisions. So that's gonna be crazy right there. Now let's go to the next one. Players can't cover their mouths during confrontations. So if you go into the referee or team and you're talking like this, red card. They literally are saying this could be any player who covers their mouth with a hand, armor, shirt during the confrontation can be shown a red card, Vinny. And you know what red card is, Rob? Can you pull up what a red card is in World Cup? If I'm not mistaken, when you get a red card, not only are you kicked out, but you're suspended the next game. Oh yeah, this is massive. So the market is a red card with zero immediate ejection for the World Cup, for covering your force in the play. So one less player remained. Additionally, the offender receives an automatic suspension for the following match. So guess what? No more of this. So imagine you're a coach. Now you're telling you guys, hey, don't even think about bringing your hand up.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:07)
You're mad at the ref, you can't call him and not just stating effort. With covered mouth.

**Patrick Bet-David** (2:12)
10 second substitution. Substituted players must leave the field within 10 seconds using the nearest exit point.
If they delay their replacement, cannot enter until at least one minute later and only after the next stop is temporarily leaving the team within 10 players. Five second countdown for restarts. Referees can invite a visible five second countdown for throw-ins and goal kicks if they believe a player is deliberately wasting time. This is actually good to make the game more exciting. That's actually gonna be good. Injured outfield players must leave the pitch. Players receiving medical treatment on the field must leave for at least one minute before returning. Goalkeepers and serious injury. So this makes you not fake an injury because you gotta step out. So that could be actually good. No more goalkeepers, tactical timeouts. Teams can no longer use goalkeeper injury stoppages as unofficial coaching breaks where players gather at the bench for instructions. Official will keep players on the field, though no formal punishment currently exists for violations and walking off the field in protest becomes a red card. Player who leaves the field to protest, the freeing decisions will be sent off.

**Vinny** (3:16)
Oh my god.

**Patrick Bet-David** (3:18)
Hydration breaks in every half, each half will conclude, include a three-minute hydration break due to expected heat. I don't know if I like that one. So anyways, those are some of the rules that people are looking at. And people, you know, they have, they have some strong thoughts about it with this time. Do you have any thoughts on these new ruling?

**SPEAKER_2** (3:33)
So I don't like new rules on the edge of championships. The NFL always spends all this time, they go, the rules community has decided this, the rules community has decided this. For this year, starting in, at the preseason, you know, we're going to be ruling things like this, we're going to be ruling things like this. Major League Baseball had the pitch clock in the minor leagues, and the challenge in the minor leagues, and they introduced the beginning of it. It frustrates me, why wouldn't you be doing this in Champions League, where all these players are on the European teams play? Why wouldn't you do it in the North American and the championships of the Americas? Why wouldn't you test it? Why do you wait to go there? Now, something like, okay, when it's at the World Cup, remember, you can't cover your mouth and say things. Okay, so now they say, hey, remember, don't yell at the referee and cover your mouth, and so you're questioning whether his parents were married when he was born and things like that. You can't do that. I don't mind that, but if you're going to make a lot of rule changes that affect play and strategy, you know what?