FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina wants to clamp down on incidents at the World Cup this summer.09:31, 01 Jun 2026FIFA are set to clamp down on wrestling at corners at the upcoming World Cup with refereeing chief, Pierluigi Collina singling out England's corner tactics in a recent presentation. The iconic Italian referee wants to see a reduction in grappling ahead of free-kicks and corners being taken.‌A new a rule will be introduced at the tournament that will allow officials to rule out goals for fouls committed by the attacking team before the ball is kicked from a corner or free kick.‌Collina singled out the Three Lions in a recent presentation, highlighting a goal in their friendly with Uruguay where Adam Wharton body-checked José María Giménez before a corner was taken. Ben White bundled home at the far post to open the scoring.‌The rule change comes after FIFA has secured approval from the International FA Board, football’s law-making body. Collina says all rule changes will be presented to teams ahead of the tournament, along with video footage.Collina said: "We try to solve this and let’s see what can be next. It would only be for fouls committed by an attacker."I don’t think any of you would be happy with a goal scored as a result of a foul being committed and the reason why the VAR can’t intervene is that the protocol says that."‌In a video presentation, Collina highlighted the aforementioned foul by Wharton in the build-up to White's goal and said: "There is a clear foul committed against the defender."The attacker clearly goes and illegally blocks the opponent; his only objective is to prevent the defender from being able to defend against his opponent."We are convinced that this goal cannot stand, it is completely unfair. We want the VAR to intervene even if a foul is committed just before the ball is in play. We are convinced nobody can object to that."‌Referees will be alerted to teams that deploy these kind of tactics from corners, with England likely to come under further scrutiny from officials this summer."Our referees will be ready," Collina said. "So if this is a tactic, part of the preparation of our referees is to know in advance which tactics are implemented by teams.‌"We have match analysts preparing, providing referees [with] information. If you know something before, you put your attention where [it] might be needed."Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!IFAB confirmed in a statement: "The IFAB has approved a clarification to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) protocol for use at the 2026 FIFA World Cup regarding clear offences committed by the attacking team before the ball is in play at a corner kick or free kick that have a direct impact on a goal, penalty kick, or disciplinary sanction.Article continues below"If the offence meets the criteria set out in the clarification, the VAR will recommend an on-field review, following which, if the referee determines that an offence occurred before the ball was in play, the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken and the corner kick or free kick will be retaken."