{
  "id": "what-changed-in-2026-27",
  "type": "guide",
  "name": "What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game",
  "summary": "The 2026/27 edition changes that alter match outcomes, from the official IFAB law-changes list: the ten-second substitution exit, five-second restart countdowns, the DOGSO-advantage sanction removal, penalty double-touch handling, VAR review of clearly incorrect second cautions, and the competition options added this cycle.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "guide",
    "law-changes",
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "refereeing"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "changes_to",
      "target": "law-03-players"
    },
    {
      "rel": "var_changes_to",
      "target": "var"
    },
    {
      "rel": "dogso_changes_to",
      "target": "dogso"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game?",
    "What are the new football rules this season?",
    "Can VAR review a second yellow card now?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Law 3: a substituted player must be off the field within ten seconds of the substitution board being shown, or the replacement cannot enter until the first stoppage after one minute; senior 'A' international friendlies may use eight substitutes, or up to eleven by agreement.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Laws 15 and 16: a player unfairly delaying a throw-in or goal kick triggers a whistled five-second countdown; a throw-in not taken in time passes to the opponents, and a delayed goal kick becomes a corner kick.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.93
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "Law 12: when advantage is played for a DOGSO offence and the non-offending team scores as a result, the offender receives no disciplinary sanction; the DOGSO considerations now include the location and number of defenders and attackers.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.91
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "Laws 10 and 14: if the kicker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously, or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick, a scored penalty is retaken; in kicks from the penalty mark an unscored kick is recorded as missed.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.91
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "VAR protocol: a clearly incorrect second caution resulting in a red card becomes reviewable, mistaken-identity review covers yellow and red cards, and competitions may opt in to immediate correction of a clearly incorrectly awarded corner kick.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c6",
      "text": "Competition options added in 2026/27 include referee body cameras (with the organiser supplying the cameras and controlling footage) and sending-off offences for provocatively covering the mouth when communicating with an opponent or leaving the field in protest.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c7",
      "text": "Advance notice: the 'Only the captain' guidelines become a mandatory protocol for all competitions from 1 July 2027.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.91
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [
    "Substituted players now have ten seconds to leave the field.",
    "Delayed throw-ins and goal kicks trigger a five-second countdown with possession sanctions.",
    "A DOGSO advantage that ends in a goal no longer brings any card.",
    "VAR can now correct a clearly incorrect second caution.",
    "The 'Only the captain' protocol becomes mandatory from 1 July 2027."
  ],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "This is the instance's core moat piece: a claim-bound digest of the official IFAB 2026/27 change list, the exact content LLMs trained before July 2026 answer wrongly, refreshed each annual cycle.",
  "confidence": 0.91,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "body": "# What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game\n\nThe IFAB publishes a revised edition every year, effective 1 July. These\nare the 2026/27 changes that alter what you see on the pitch, from the\nofficial change list.\n\n## Substitutions get a clock (Law 3)\n\nA substituted player now has **ten seconds** to leave the field from the\nmoment the substitution board is shown. Dawdle, and the replacement waits\noff the field until the first stoppage after a full minute — a real\nsanction for a real time-wasting tactic. Separately, senior 'A'\ninternational friendlies now allow eight substitutes, up to eleven if\nboth teams agree.\n\n## Restart countdowns spread (Laws 15-17)\n\nThe goalkeeper eight-second rule from 2025/26 gets siblings: unfairly\ndelaying a **throw-in** or a **goal kick** now triggers a whistled\nfive-second countdown. A throw-in not taken in time is handed to the\nopponents; a delayed goal kick becomes a corner. Delay near your own goal\nis now priced in restarts, not just added time.\n\n## DOGSO advantage without the card (Law 12)\n\nWhen the referee plays advantage on a denial-of-obvious-goal-scoring-\nopportunity offence and the attacking team scores anyway, the offender is\nno longer sanctioned: the offence did not, in the end, deny anything. The\nDOGSO considerations also now weigh the location and number of defenders\n*and attackers*.\n\n## Penalty double touches, settled (Laws 10 and 14)\n\nThe accidental double touch — both feet at once, or ball onto the\nstanding leg — now has a clean outcome: if the penalty scored, it is\nretaken; in a shoot-out, if it did not score, it is recorded as missed.\n\n## VAR reaches the second yellow (VAR protocol)\n\nThe quietest big change: a **clearly incorrect second caution** that\nproduces a red card is now reviewable. Mistaken identity review covers\nyellow and red cards, and competitions may enable immediate correction of\na clearly wrong corner award.\n\n## New competition options (Laws 5 and 12)\n\nReferee body cameras arrive as a competition option, with the organiser\nsupplying cameras and controlling footage. Two provocation-related\nsending-off options also appear: covering the mouth while addressing an\nopponent provocatively, and leaving the field in protest at a decision.\n\n## Coming next season\n\nFrom 1 July 2027, the 'Only the captain' approach — only the captain may\napproach the referee in flashpoint situations — stops being guidance and\nbecomes mandatory in all competitions.",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/what-changed-in-2026-27",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/what-changed-in-2026-27.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game",
    "description": "The 2026/27 edition changes that alter match outcomes, from the official IFAB law-changes list: the ten-second substitution exit, five-second restart countdowns, the DOGSO-advantage sanction removal, penalty double-touch handling, VAR review of clearly incorrect second cautions, and the competition options added this cycle.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/what-changed-in-2026-27",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law changes 2026/27 — changes and clarifications (IFAB)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/law-changes/latest/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game"
  }
}