FIFA has added a second yellow-card amnesty to the 2026 World Cup rulebook, resetting accumulated bookings twice during the tournament instead of once. The goal is straightforward: stop the sport’s biggest stars from watching the final from the locker room because of a tactical foul in the Round of 16.
The FIFA Council approved the change on April 28-29, 2026, ahead of a tournament that already looks nothing like its predecessors. With 48 teams competing for the first time, and an extra knockout round bolted onto the bracket, the math on yellow-card accumulation was getting ugly.
How the new amnesty actually works
Under the new system, all yellow cards reset after the group stage. They reset again after the quarterfinals. That means a player who picks up bookings early in the tournament gets a fresh slate heading into the business end of the competition.
Under the amended rules, players face suspension only after receiving two yellow cards within their three group-stage matches, or two yellows across the knockout rounds leading up to the quarterfinals. After the quarterfinal reset, the count starts over again for the semifinals and final.
