NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
FIFA is preparing to change World Cup rules on yellow cards to ensure fewer players are suspended for key qualifying matches in North America.
An additional amnesty for yellow cards – erasing players’ disciplinary records twice during the expanded tournament – will be proposed at a FIFA board meeting on Tuesday, people familiar with the plan told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision is not yet official.
At the World Cup, players must serve a one-match suspension if they receive a yellow card in two different matches, but these have been overturned in previous tournaments after the quarter-final stage.
This ensured that no player would miss the final through suspension if they received a yellow card in the semi-final.
The World Cup’s expanded format to 48 teams, with additional knockout stages, led to a FIFA review aimed at helping keep players on the field.
FIFA is proposing to erase the disciplinary records of players who received a yellow card after the three-match group stage so that they start the knockout stage again.
A second amnesty after the quarter-finals will apply to players who received a yellow in the previous three knockout rounds and whose teams qualified for the semi-finals.
The World Cup will be played from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
