The Technical Committee of Referees of the Spanish Football Federation has confirmed new rules ahead of the new season, aiming to speed up play and increase effective time, while forgoing the controversial penalty for covering the mouth.
Spain's La Liga is introducing a series of stricter rules against deliberate time-wasting starting from the new season. The Technical Committee of Referees of the Spanish Football Federation confirmed the new rules on August 13, 2026, with the primary goal of making the game significantly more dynamic and ensuring longer effective playing time.
The leading figures in Spanish refereeing want to finally put an end to the increasingly frequent obstructions, and some of the changes come as a direct result of experiences from the World Cup. A source from the Technical Committee of Referees told Spanish newspaper Marca: "We all hope that common sense will prevail in the application of the new rules."
The biggest novelty concerns rigorous measures against players who deliberately delay their exit from the pitch during a substitution. When a player takes more than ten seconds to leave the field during a substitution, his replacement will not be allowed to enter the game immediately. Instead, the substitution will have to wait for the next stoppage, and only after at least one minute of effective play has passed.
Players who fake injuries will also face similar consequences. According to Goal.com, they will have to leave the field and can only return after one minute has passed from the stoppage, regardless of whether the game has been stopped again in the meantime.
Particularly interesting is the rule concerning goalkeepers who fake injuries to slow down the pace of the match. If the referee determines that it is deliberate and excessive time-wasting, he will initiate a ten-second countdown during which the coach must take one player off the field. If the coach fails to do so within the given time, the team captain will automatically have to leave the pitch.
From the refereeing organization, they express hope that common sense will prevail in the application of these rules and that spectators will finally watch faster and more dynamic football. The referee can start the 10-second countdown as soon as he notices signs of deliberate time-wasting, and then apply the penalties and procedures provided for in the new rules.
On the other hand, Spanish referees have decided to pump the brakes when it comes to the so-called 'Vinicius Law.' Although IFAB left national leagues the option to penalize players who cover their mouths with their hands while talking to opponents or referees, La Liga will not apply this rule.
Officials from the Technical Committee of Referees explained their decision: "For us, covering the mouth will not be a red card. We don't know what the player said to his opponent, and we believe that a sending-off would be unfair and excessive." The Committee believes that a red card for such an action would be an unfair and excessive punishment because the referee cannot know with certainty what the player said at that moment.
