The next World Cup which will be played this summer in the United States, Canada and Morocco will be the occasion for a small revolution, according to The Athletic. FIFA is indeed considering a change regarding the yellow cards received throughout the competition.
Therefore, all warnings received during the group stage should be cleared before the start of the final phase. And it will be the same after the quarter-finals in order to reduce the risk of suspension for high-stakes matches.
Currently, the counters are only reset once, at the end of the quarter-finals. But due to the expansion of the competition to 48 teams, compared to 32 previously, and the introduction of the round of 16, FIFA has decided to review its plans and this change should be noted at the FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver.
A fairer approach
In fact, while until the previous World Cup, a player could be suspended if he received two yellow cards during the first five matches on the program, a player will only be suspended if he accumulates two warnings during the group stage or during the first three matches of the final phase, namely the round of 16, the round of 16 and the quarter-finals.
“FIFA considers this approach to be fairer as it reduces risk and should allow players to be available for decisive knockout matches”explain The Athletic.
