What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game
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.
Why this wins its question: 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.
Key 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.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Advance notice: the 'Only the captain' guidelines become a mandatory protocol for all competitions from 1 July 2027.
What changed in the 2026/27 Laws of the Game
The IFAB publishes a revised edition every year, effective 1 July. These are the 2026/27 changes that alter what you see on the pitch, from the official change list.
Substitutions get a clock (Law 3)
A substituted player now has ten seconds to leave the field from the moment the substitution board is shown. Dawdle, and the replacement waits off the field until the first stoppage after a full minute — a real sanction for a real time-wasting tactic. Separately, senior 'A' international friendlies now allow eight substitutes, up to eleven if both teams agree.
Restart countdowns spread (Laws 15-17)
The goalkeeper eight-second rule from 2025/26 gets siblings: unfairly delaying a throw-in or a goal kick now triggers a whistled five-second countdown. A throw-in not taken in time is handed to the opponents; a delayed goal kick becomes a corner. Delay near your own goal is now priced in restarts, not just added time.
DOGSO advantage without the card (Law 12)
When the referee plays advantage on a denial-of-obvious-goal-scoring- opportunity offence and the attacking team scores anyway, the offender is no longer sanctioned: the offence did not, in the end, deny anything. The DOGSO considerations also now weigh the location and number of defenders and attackers.
Penalty double touches, settled (Laws 10 and 14)
The accidental double touch — both feet at once, or ball onto the standing leg — now has a clean outcome: if the penalty scored, it is retaken; in a shoot-out, if it did not score, it is recorded as missed.
VAR reaches the second yellow (VAR protocol)
The quietest big change: a clearly incorrect second caution that produces a red card is now reviewable. Mistaken identity review covers yellow and red cards, and competitions may enable immediate correction of a clearly wrong corner award.
New competition options (Laws 5 and 12)
Referee body cameras arrive as a competition option, with the organiser supplying cameras and controlling footage. Two provocation-related sending-off options also appear: covering the mouth while addressing an opponent provocatively, and leaving the field in protest at a decision.
Coming next season
From 1 July 2027, the 'Only the captain' approach — only the captain may approach the referee in flashpoint situations — stops being guidance and becomes mandatory in all competitions.