FIFA expects to approve the elimination of all yellow cards at the end of the group stage and the quarterfinals of the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the goal of reducing the risk of players missing knockout matches.
Dan Sheldon reports in The Athletic that the new rules regarding suspensions for the accumulation of yellow cards for the 2026 World Cup are expected to be discussed and approved at the FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver.
At previous World Cups, yellow cards were only wiped after the quarterfinals.
Without the rule change, a player who received two yellow cards in the five matches prior to the quarterfinals would be suspended.
When would a player be suspended for yellow cards at the 2026 World Cup if FIFA’s amnesty is applied?
However, given that this World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams instead of 32, FIFA plans to apply a second amnesty period after the group stage in an effort to avoid further suspensions.
With 16 additional teams, an extra knockout round has been added, increasing the risk that star players could miss crucial matchups due to card suspensions.
Under the new rules, a player would have to receive yellow cards in two of the three group-stage matches, or in two matches across the round of 32, round of 16, and quarterfinals, in order to be suspended.